The Fed meets December 15th & 16th.

A growing number of analysts now predict that the economy is so weak that the Fed will have to reduce its official target to zero if it wants to jump start the stalled economy, as it said in its last  policy statement.

Japan’s central bank reduced its benchmark interest rate to zero for five years, from 2001 to 2006, primarily to combat a  persistent case of deflation (a broad-based decline in consumer prices) and to revive economic growth. The jury’s still out on the move’s success.

Some analysts here see signs that the United States faces a similar threat.  American banks have become so decimated by losses in real estate that they are either unable or unwilling to resume normal lending practices.  And as prices for oil and many other commodities have crashed during the past two weeks, these same analysts now warn that deflation might be a threat here as well.

If the Fed funds rate does drop to zero, it would not mean free money for consumers or businesses. The zero rate would only apply to the reserves that banks are required to maintain and that they lend to one another. Customers would still have to pay some

interest, but the rates could be extremely low for some business borrowers.

Post from: Cherry Creek Today | News, Shopping and Real Estate In Denver

0% Money

Related Posts

• Some Thoughts On Why Your Home's Not Selling
• Blogus Protectus
• I.O.U.S.A – Denver Premier
• Visit Denver Zoo Lights
• Cherry Creek Marching Brand
• Denver Arts Week
• Parting Ways
• Pets Are People Too
• CSU Receives $100,000 Grant
• Shopping Pink

I.O.U.S.A., the critically acclaimed film about the rapidly growing national debt and

its consequences for the United States economy, is on the short list for an Oscar
nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Directed by Sundance veteran  Patrick Creadon the film is among the 15
documentary features that will now advance in the voting process designating the final
five nominees for next year’s Academy Awards.

Educators are bringing the film to their classrooms as a vital teaching tool, while
young Americans are using the film on college campuses to raise awareness among their

peers on fiscal issues crucial to all their futures.
Eerily topical and surprisingly nonpartisan, I.O.U.S.A. paints a vivid and alarming
profile of America’s current economic situation and drives home the message that the

time to begin addressing America’s financial future just may be now.

The film follows former U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker and Robert Bixby of the Concord Coalition as they crisscross the country explaining America’s unsustainable fiscal policies to its

citizens as part of the Fiscal Wake-up Tour. The film also features candid interviews
with noted experts such as Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Paul O’Neill, Robert Rubin,
and Paul Volcker, as well as with everyday citizens.
The record-setting August opening included an unprecedented town hall featuring
financial and policy experts such as Warren Buffett and Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s
Chairman Pete Peterson and CEO Dave Walker, which was beamed via satellite to over 350
movie theaters in 42 states across the country.

The Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009. The 81st Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009.

I.O.U.S.A. Screens at Starz Film Center, 900 Auraria Pkwy. here in Denver on  Tuesday November 25, 2008, at 7:00 PM.

For those unable to attend the Denver premier, Cherry Creek Today is pleased to offer this 30-minute synopsis of the film through the film’s producers, by way of Youtube :

Post from: Cherry Creek Today | News, Shopping and Real Estate In Denver

I.O.U.S.A – Denver Premier

Related Posts

• 0% Money
• Holiday Shopping Wisecracks