US Financial News

Simon Johnson, the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is the co-author of “13 Bankers.”

The United States has a large budget deficit and a ratio of debt to gross domestic product that, in most projections, continues to rise over time. Some House and Senate Republicans are arguing strongly that this situation calls for big, immediate cuts in government spending for example, as part of any agreement to increase the federal government’s debt ceiling.

The Joint Economic Committee of Congress held a hearing on Tuesday to discuss whether such spending cuts would be contractionary or expansionary for the economy in the short run. After taking part as a witness at the hearing, I conclude that large immediate spending cuts would tend to slow the economy.

The general presumption is that fiscal contraction cutting spending or raising taxes, or both will immediately slow the economy relative to the growth it would have had otherwise. (Of course, some lawmakers and candidates call for cutting spending and cutting taxes, too. This

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| Posted June 23, 2011 by Hanna Silver under Financial News

Oil prices have been a hot-button issue for the past few as turmoil has caused disruptions in the U.S. supply. The U.S. Department of Energy has decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from a strategic reserve in hopes of aiding the U.S. economy.

For those worried about the oil supply there is no need, the supply is so large that current reserve levels are at a historical high of 727 million barrels — enough to replace nearly two months of oil imports in theory.

There are stockpiles of oil throughout the world in order to provide a fallback in the case of an energy crisis. Although a large portion— 1.4 billion— of these reserves belong to the government, 2.7 billion barrels are privately controlled. U.S. reserves of oil are held in Texas, Louisiana and a planned facility will be built in Mississippi.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not have a lot of positive news to deliver Wednesday when he gave his assessment of the economy. It wa

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| Tags: Oil, Oil Reserve
Posted June 22, 2011 by Hanna Silver under Financial News

Mortgage rates were largely unchanged this week because of mixed economic reports.

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| Tags: Fixed Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Rates
Posted June 21, 2011 by Admin under Financial Guru

Dominick Cruz talks about his upcoming fight against Urijah Faber at UFC 132.

Cruz out for revenge is categorized as sports. This video was licensed from Grab Networks. The copyright notice of this video is © FOX SPORTS. For additional video content, click the video tab at the top of this page.

If you are a new American Consumer News reader, we would like to welcome you to our website. American Consumer News exists to help people become better managers of money and more savvy consumers. We provide daily news covering the companies that consumers interact with on a regular basis, such as Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Bank of America and Ford.

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| Tags: Revenge
Posted June 21, 2011 by Hanna Silver under Financial News

The Australian life insurance industry faced a tough final six months last year, with falling premiums and rising claims.

According to the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority report, net premiums for the 12 months ending December 2010 were $39.5 billion compared to $40.1 billion in the previous 12-month period ending in June last year.

Net policy payments for the December 2010 year were $37.4 billion, compared to $36.9 billion in the year ending June 2010.

Reinsurance premiums for the life industry were $3.3 billion for the 12 months ending December 2010.

The life companies did a better job during the December year, with expenses down from $25.1 billion in the 2010 June year to $19.1 billion in the 12 months ending December 2010.

Despite cutting costs, the changes to premiums and claims did have an impact on the bottom line of the industry with after-tax profits down for the December year.

After-tax products in the December full year were $2.746 billion compared to $2.765 in the 12 months ending June 2010.

The financial health of the life industry improved in the December 2010 year with total assets reaching $234.8 billion.

This compared to $231.3 billion in the 12 months ending June 2010.

The December result gave life companies a total solvency of $224.4 billion for the year ending December and a solvency reserve cover of 1.81 times.

| Tags: Industry, Industry 2010
Posted June 21, 2011 by Hanna Silver under Financial News

Order furniture from Marks and Spencer’s and get 20% back on a M&S giftcard as a thank you.

What’s the deal?

For a limited time Marks and Spencer are thanking customers for ordering their furniture by sending them a giftcard worth 20% of their order.

How do I benefit?

To get the 20% M&S giftcard, you can either order your M&S furniture over the phone by calling 0845 603 1603 or online at the Marks and Spencer website.

The giftcard will then be sent out separately within 7-10 days after your furniture is delivered.

Expiry

This offer expires on 20th April, 2011.

Conditions

The 20% is calculated from the total paid after discounts.

For a full set of terms and conditions visit the Marks and Spencer website.

| Tags: Furniture, Order Furniture
Posted June 20, 2011 by Admin under Financial Guru

It can get to the stage when many pensioners can not look after themselves any more and have to go in to a care home or assisted accommodation. This type of living can be very expensive and if you have no savings then you could end up in one which you do not wish to be in. Saving for the future does not always mean saving to enjoy yourself but in some cases saving to have the basics in life such as a good care system. Some people who get to retirement age have no friends or family to take care of them so have no choice but to move out of their homes as they can no longer take care of yourself.

If you have cash in the bank or have assets then you maybe forced sell your home and pay for you own care. Lots of care homes are funded by the government so if some can not afford it then they will not miss out on the care. If you do not pay for your own care then you will more then likely have no choice on where you go. If you want to set up a retirement trust then the money will be out of your hands so will not be forced to pay for your own care. Read more…

| Tags: Retirement Planning
Posted June 18, 2011 by Admin under Financial Guru

Checking accounts are a type of deposit account which allows you to deposit funds that you can withdraw any time either through issuing a check or using an ATM or debit card. Although there are some who no longer see the need for a checking account in these days of paperless technology, there are still plenty of instances when having a checking account is handy or even necessary, such as when you need to make a down payment for your house or when you want to pay your monthly or recurring bills through checks instead of cash.

When you open a high interest account, there are plenty of things that you need to remember. One would be recording every transaction in your check register to make sure that you would have something you can use to compare your monthly statement to when it arrives. It is also important that you would be maintaining whatever the minimum balance requirement is on your account, as going below it could cause you to be charged with a fee. You should also know how you can order new checks for your account so that in the event that you run out, you would be able to quickly secure checks that you can use for making payments. Read more…

| Tags: Checking Account
Posted June 18, 2011 by Admin under Financial Guru