FEDERAL RESERVE

Economic evidence today suggests that we don't need QE2, said Nicholas Sargen, chief investment officer at Fort Washington Advisors.

Stocks finished essentially flat in listless pre-holiday trading amidst low volume and a dearth of economic data.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris Brendler downgraded American Express because their credit card businses will lose market share to debit cards.

Ben Bernanke and his friends on the Federal Reserve have a PR machine to help sell their lies. Let's assess whether Ben and his Federal Reserve have helped or hurt the average American.

The stock market is up slightly as Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) jumped 8.41 percent and financial stocks rose broadly. However enthusiasm was tempered by the downgrade of American Express (NYSE:AXP).

Shares of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) are tumbling after an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the companies because of potential negative impact of pending government regulations.

South Korea announced on Sunday it will start charging a levy on banks' foreign exchange borrowings, a measure aimed at limiting the chances of capital exiting the economy at a time when military tensions with the North are escalating.

The Federal Reserve's $600 billion bond buying program has been at least modestly successful so far, St Louis Fed President James Bullard told the CNBC TV business channel on Monday.

Republican Congressman Ron Paul, the new head of the subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve, said on Sunday he will seek greater transparency but will not be sending subpoenas to the central bank chairman from Day One.

U.S. companies are turning profitable again, they have stockpiles of cash and the economy is teetering on its new 'recovery' legs as the government pumps in billions of dollars trying to keep it afloat. Yet, the one thing that is crucial to the recovery is not happening - job creation - as companies remain reluctant to hire.

The companies which are expected to see active trade in Friday are Oracle, Accenture, Research In Motion, MasterCard and Lincoln National.

Stocks rose, likely boosted by a drop in jobless claims and an optimistic forecast by FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), ahead of post-closing earnings reports from Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL).

The Federal Reserve is proposing a 12-cent cap on fees merchants pay to banks pay for debit card transaction processing

Business activity in New York State rebounded in December after contracting sharply in November for the first time since mid-2009.

Inflation in the U.S. continued to remain weak during November, in line with analysts' expectations, according to a report by the U.S. Labor Department.

Gold Prices slipped to a two-day low in London dealing on Wednesday, dropping 1.5% from yesterday's Dollar high at $1408 per ounce as Asian stock markets closed up to 2% lower and European stocks lost 0.7% on average.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a lower opening on Wednesday with futures on the S&P 500 down 0.47 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.39 percent and Nasdaq100 futures down 0.47 percent.

Yields on U.S. Treasuries climbed to seven-month highs in Asia on Wednesday and the dollar rebounded as upbeat retail sales data added to evidence that America's economy is gathering steam.

Stocks retreated in the final hour of trading after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at near-zero, maintained its bond-buying program and warned about the slow pace of economic recovery in the U.S.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday offered only a cautious nod to the economy's improving prospects as it put a spotlight on lofty unemployment and reaffirmed its commitment to buy $600 billion in bonds.

The economic recovery is continuing, but at a pace that is not sufficient to bring down unemployment, according to a policy statement by the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).