FEDERAL RESERVE

Minutes from the last FOMC meeting held April 26-27, 2011.

The two hottest personalities in the hedge fund industry just disagreed about the hottest investment in the world.

U.S. Dollar Gold Prices continued on Monday morning where they'd left off on Friday, zigzagging around $1495 while global stock markets fell along with major industrial commodities oil and copper.

Over the past several decades, some very alarming long-term economic trends have developed that are absolutely destroying the economy. Here are 50 hard facts and statistics that show the negative trends in several areas of the economy. If dramatic changes are not made soon, a complete and total economic collapse becomes a possibility

The threat that the U.S. federal government won’t be able to pay all of its bills by its already extended Aug. 2 looms large, but Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has another warning: If the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling isn’t raised, seniors reliant on Social Security and Medicare are to be worried about.

Investors seem to be scared of the end of QE2 on June 30, 2011

When the Federal Reserve finally decides to begin draining cash from a flush U.S. banking system, policymakers may find themselves armed with more tools than they know what to do with.

A Senate panel on Thursday approved for the third time the nomination of Nobel laureate Peter Diamond to a seat on the Federal Reserve Board over the opposition of Republicans, setting up a tough fight to win approval in the full Senate.

Larger financial firms should face more onerous regulatory requirements to make sure they can withstand turbulence in economy or credit markets, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will say on Thursday.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota on Wednesday repeated his call for a half-percentage-point interest rate hike by year-end, lending his weight to what still appears to be a minority view at the U.S. central bank.

Influential investment veteran Jim Rogers said on Tuesday he plans to short U.S. Treasuries, maybe as soon as later in the day, as he expects the end of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program to pressure government bonds.

Studies by regional Federal Reserve banks show job scarcity is a major hindrance to the recovery of the depressed U.S. housing market, a top Fed official said on Tuesday.

Investors around the world, more so the Chinese, are buying up gold assets to cover against rising inflation risk, macroeconomic uncertainties, a possible currency doom and the ever worsening U.S. debt scenario. The gargantuan demand from China can cause the yellow metal's prices to skyrocket, analysts feel. If the Chinese buying trend is ably supplemented with a fall in the value of dollar, this could result in a skyrocketing of prices.

FBR Capital Markets said Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) have been volatile for over a year due to the Durbin Debit Interchange Amendment. The brokerage said it is worth watching in the next few months in the wake of final regulations expected from the Federal Reserve.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker warned on Friday that trillion-dollar deficits posed a threat to the stability of the U.S. economy and the dollar, and said he is frustrated by the gridlock in Washington.

Two Federal Reserve officials on Friday stressed there will be no rush to roll back the U.S. central bank's super-easy monetary policy with the labor market still healing and inflation expectations largely in check.

The Federal Reserve should keep interest rates on hold for some time after it completes its bond buying to assess its impact on the economy, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Friday.

The companies whose shares are moving in aftermarket trade on Thursday are: CF Industries Holdings, Fluor Corp, CIGNA Corp, Priceline.com, Eog Resources, Carefusion, Sunoco, Metropcs Communications, Visa and American Internation Group.

A top Federal Reserve official called on Thursday for a small interest rate increase by the end of the year if inflation rises as forecast, in one of the first outright calls from a policymaker to tighten monetary policy.

In the wake of the financial crisis, regulators are strengthening their ability to spot fault lines in the financial system, rather than focusing exclusively on specific companies, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

Inflation remains well under control, despite the spike in oil prices, but the Federal Reserve stands ready to raise interest rates if price pressures appear to be getting out of hand, top Fed officials said on Wednesday.