Serbu BEJ !!!!Top Stories **<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/topnews/*http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080722/wall_street.html> Dow <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EDJI>11,602.50+135.16+*1.18%*[image: Chart for Dow] <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EDJI> *Stocks surge as Oil Plunges*<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/topnews/*http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080722/wall_street.html>- AP
Wall Street traded higher Tuesday as investors were encouraged by another sharp drop in oil prices and snapped up shares of undervalued financial companies. - Wachovia Has $8.9B Loss, Exits Wholesale Mortgage<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/finhome/topstories/apf/*http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080722/earns_wachovia.html>- AP - Mortgage Giant Rescue Could Cost $25B<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080722/fannie_freddie_cost.html>- AP - Oil Tumbles More Than $4<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/topnews/*http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080722/oil_prices.html>- AP - Pickens Sees $300 Oil Unless U.S. Cuts Imports<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080722/pickens_oil.html>- Reuters - California Foreclosures Soar to 20-year High<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080722/california_homes_foreclosures.html>- AP - Huge Trading Loss Sinks Energy Trader SemGroup<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080722/semgroup.html>- Reuters - 'They're All Toast': Roubini Says Brokers, Even Goldman, Can't Stay Independent<http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/41330/%27They%27re-All-Toast%27-Roubini-Says-Brokers-Even-Goldman-Can%27t-Stay-Independent?tickers=GS,LEH,MS,MER,JPM,BAC,C>- Tech Ticker On Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 10:10 PM, @gmail.com wrote: > Fed's Plosser: Time For Interest Rate Increase > *CHARLES PLOSSER, FEDERAL RESERVE, FED, INTEREST RATES, INFLATION* > By AP > > To fend off inflation, the Federal Reserve probably will need to boost > interest rates "sooner rather than later" even if employment and financial > conditions haven't revived, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of > Philadelphia said Tuesday. > > Charles Plosser is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, > the group including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that determines the > direction interest rates should go to influence national economic > activity. > > Out of concern about inflation, the Fed in June ended a nearly yearlong > string of rate reductions aimed at shoring up the wobbly economy. The Fed > left its key rate at 2 percent. Many economists predict Fed policymakers > will leave rates alone again when they meet next on Aug. 5. > > Possessing a reputation for being extra-vigilant about inflation dangers, > Plosser was one of two members who dissented from the Fed's decision in late > April to slice its key rate. That turned out to be the Fed's last rate > reduction, in one of its most aggressive campaigns that started last > September. > > "Inflation is already too high and inconsistent with our goal of -- and > responsibility to ensure -- price stability," Plosser said in a speech to a > group assembled by the Philadelphia Business Journal. > > "We will need to reverse course -- the exact timing depends on how the > economy evolves, but I anticipate the reversal will need to be started sooner > rather than later," he warned. "And, I believe it will likely need to > begin before either the labor market or the financial markets have > completely turned around," he added. > > Last week the government reported that consumer prices shot up 1.1 percent > in June, the second-biggest rise in a quarter century. Wholesale prices also > rose sharply during the month. > > The Fed's worry is that lofty energy and food prices will spread inflation > through the economy. They also worry that people, investors and companies > will begin to brace for, or expect, prices to keep rising down the road. > Those expectations can make them act in ways that could aggravate inflation. > > "Households, workers, businesses, investors, financial firms all must have > confidence that the Federal Reserve will not let inflation get out of > control," Plosser said. Inflation, if not blunted by other forces, eats into > paychecks, whittles the value of investments and squeezes corporate profits. > > Bernanke, in back-to-back appearances on Capitol Hill last week, said he > was concerned about the inflation outlook but indicated that the Fed isn't > in a rush to start boosting rates given the fragile state of the economy. > Housing, credit and financial problems have pounded people and businesses, > causing the economy's growth to slow sharply. > > The Fed, in new projections released last week, now believes inflation will > be higher this year than previously thought, with prices rising as high as > 4.2 percent under one inflation measure. That was up considerably from an > earlier forecast of an upper bound of a 3.4 percent increase in prices. > > Keeping rates too low for too long "worsens our inflation problem," Plosser > said. > > Critics blame former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan for feeding the housing > bubble that eventually burst by leaving rates at extraordinary low levels > for too long. The Greenspan Fed in the summer of 2003 dropped its key rate > to 1 percent, the lowest in more than four decades. The rate stayed there > for a year before the Fed started raising rates to curb inflation. > > (c) 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be > published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. > >
