Peter's Blog

Rising Interest Rates Cutting a Lifeline for Consumers

Climbing interest rates are putting the squeeze on the mortgage refi market. Applications to refinance home mortgages fell 5% last week, dropping to an 18-year low. According to CNBC, mortgage application volume was nearly 27% lower than a year ago when rates were lower. The refinance share of total mortgage application volume fell to its lowest […]

Ron Paul: Everything Is Subprime Thanks to the Federal Reserve (Video)

Ron Paul talked about bubbles during his Liberty Report last week, noting our articles on the subprime auto bubble, along with housing bubble 2.0. As Ron pointed out, it’s hard to keep up with all of the distortions in the marketplace thanks to a decade of Federal Reserve easy money. How do you cover all the bubbles? […]

What Do Fed Rate Hikes Mean to Me?

The Federal Reserve bumped up interest rates another 25 basis points this week. The target federal funds rate now stands at 1.75%. “Well, OK,” you might be thinking. “But this is just a bunch of wonkish policy stuff. What’s it to me?” In a nutshell, it means your debt is going to cost you more. […]