Today's Business Tip
Next business tip >>
**********************
LOAN CALCULATOR WITH PAYMENT SCHEDULE GENERATOR
Enter Loan Data Here
Loan Amount:$
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) %: %
Repayment period in years:
Amount of payments per year:

Amount per payment:$
Total paid over the life of the loan:$
Total interest paid over the life of the loan:$
More calculators
Compound Interest Calculator
Percentage of Gain (or loss) Calculator
Length Unit Converter
Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator
USEFUL LINKS
Business Articles - Business Dictionary - Economics Dictionary - Encyclopedia - Free Dictionaries - Health Corner: A to Z - Post a Free Ad - Classifieds - Mortgage & Loans Calculators - Country Currency Finder - Small Business Ideas - Business & Finance Tips - Business Links - Events Calendar - Post an Event - New York State Quiz - G8 Countries/World Maps
**********************
HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve, and informally as the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created in 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, and was largely a response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907. Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded and its structure has evolved. Events such as the Great Depression were major factors leading to changes in the system.[5] Its duties today, according to official Federal Reserve documentation, are to conduct the nation's monetary policy, supervise and regulate banking institutions, maintain the stability of the financial system and provide financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions.
The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors (or Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, numerous other private U.S. member banks and various advisory councils. This division of responsibilities of the central bank falls into several separate and independent parts, some private and some public. The result is a structure that is considered unique among central banks. It is also unusual in that an entity (the U.S. Department of the Treasury) outside of the central bank creates the currency used.
According to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, "It is not 'owned' by anyone and is 'not a private, profit-making institution'. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects." The U.S. Government does not own shares in the Federal Reserve System or any of its component banks, but the Government does receive all of the system's annual profits after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks' capital investment is paid and an account surplus is maintained. The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system's highest-level employees. The Federal Reserve transferred a record amount of $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury in 2009.
Purpose
The primary motivation for creating the Federal Reserve System was to address banking panics. Other purposes are stated in the Federal Reserve Act, such as "to furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial Read more...

"It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you". Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Please support our campaign
Loading...
Loading...

Obama and his new $300 Billion Jobs Package

Obama Said to Seek $300 Billion Jobs Package
By Albert R. Hunt - Sep 7, 2011
Source: Bloomberg
President Barack Obama plans to propose sparking job growth by injecting more than $300 billion into the economy next year, mostly through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local governments.

Obama will call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term jobs measures by raising tax revenue in later years. This would be part of a long-term deficit reduction package, including spending and entitlement cuts as well as revenue increases, that he will present next week to the congressional panel charged with finding ways to reduce the nation’s debt.

Almost half the stimulus would come from tax cuts, which include an extension of a two-percentage-point reduction in the payroll tax paid by workers due to expire Dec. 31 and a new decrease in the portion of the tax paid by employers.

Obama is set to lay out his plans in an address to Congress tomorrow as unemployment remains at 9.1 percent more than two years after the official end of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Payroll growth stalled last month.

The unemployment rate and the sluggish recovery will be central issues as Obama runs for re-election next year. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a leading Republican seeking the party’s nomination to face Obama in November 2012, yesterday offered his own 59-point economic plan, including tax cuts for those making $200,000 or less a year. He and seven other Republican candidates are scheduled to debate tonight in California.
Plan Previewed

The main components of Obama’s jobs plan, though not its scale, have been largely telegraphed by the administration. For weeks, people familiar with deliberations have said the White House is considering tax incentives, infrastructure and assistance to local governments. Obama has stressed construction and tax cuts in recent public speeches...Read more...