interest rates

Women walking by a 'now hiring' sign.

Powell signals higher interest rates. Here’s why Friday’s jobs report will affect Fed’s decision.

BY: - March 8, 2023

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this week that interest rate increases could be higher and come faster if Friday’s unemployment data shows the nation’s labor market isn’t cooling off. Stock indexes fell after his comments. That’s been a familiar pattern over the past year as the federal bank has tried to combat inflation.  A […]

In November, Colorado voters passed Prop 123, which will allow 0.1% of the state income tax rate to be used to increase the affordable housing stock among other provisions to help the unhoused. This man, who was living in an encampment in Boulder last year, said he had been on a housing wait list for a long time. (Derek Miles for Colorado Newsline)

Voters embraced affordable housing initiatives. Advocates say Congress should do the same.

BY: - December 15, 2022

Voters in Colorado approved a statewide affordable housing initiative in November, while voters in nine cities across the country OK’d measures to finance the construction of affordable housing, preserve existing rental properties and support renters. But as housing costs soar, analysts and advocates say more needs to be done and argue that federal action is […]

COMMENTARY
A "For Sale" in front of a house. Mortgage rates have fallen over the past month but remain above 2021 levels, leaving homes sitting on the market longer than during the pandemic boom.

The Fed hiked interest rates for the 7th time this year, so why are mortgage rates coming down?

BY: - December 15, 2022

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point on Dec. 14, 2022, to a range of 4.25 to 4.5%, the seventh increase this year. So far in 2022, the Fed has lifted its benchmark short-term rate, which influences most other borrowing costs in the economy, by 4.25 percentage points from a low […]

COMMENTARY
Federal ReserveBank Board Chairman Jerome Powell contemplates a response to questions on Nov. 2, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Fed inflation fight raises risks of both recession and financial crisis

BY: - November 7, 2022

There is wide agreement among economists and market observers that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes will cause economic growth to grind to a halt, leading to a recession. Less talked about is the risk of a financial crisis as the U.S. central bank simultaneously tries to shrink its massive balance sheet. As expected, […]

Federal Reserve Bank Board Chairman Jerome Powell announced Wednesday that the bank is raising interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, the sixth increase this year and the fourth time in a row at rates this high. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Fed raises interest rates again, signals more coming despite pressure to slow the pace

BY: - November 2, 2022

The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that in its continuing efforts to tamp down inflation, it would raise interest rates yet again by another three-quarters of a point to a target range of 3.75 to 4%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference following the announcement that the “historically fast pace” of […]