Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, December 21, 2011. [View all]Hugin
(33,222 posts)Bernanke Prods Savers to Become Consumers
By Rich Miller - Dec 20, 2011
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke finally may be catching a break: His easy-money policies are showing signs of speeding up the economic rebound three years after he cut interest rates to zero.
Housing may be nearing a bottom as record-low mortgage rates tempt more buyers into the market and confidence among homebuilders climbs to the highest since May 2010. Autos, another part of the economy sensitive to interest rates, are reviving, with carmakers reporting in November their highest sales pace in more than two years.
Banks also are starting to put more of their money to work, expanding commercial and industrial loans last quarter by the most since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. went bankrupt in September 2008.
When the Fed sprinkles happy dust on the economy, we always respond, said Allen Sinai, co-founder and chief global economist and strategist at Decision Economics in New York. The happy dust has been out there a long, long time, and I think it finally may be settling in some places.
More on this here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-12-21/bernanke-money-policy-seen-achieving-goal-as-savers-become-consumers-again.html
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