Federal Reserve officials said they expect to keep short-term interest rates near ZERO for almost three more years until 2014 which was increase six more months from last August when they were stating rates would stay near zero until Mid-2013. Also in more efforts to speed up the economic recovery they could restart the controversial bond-buying program.

Interest rates are now hovering near record highs, at an average rate of 14.72%. And if your credit is bad enough, you could even end up with a rate as high as 59.9% APR. That’s because while the CARD Act helped crack down on certain fees and requires more disclosures, it didn’t cap every credit card holder’s worst enemy: interest rates. Sure, the new rules prevent banks from raising most interest rates retroactively, but there’s no limit on the rates they can charge…

I wanted to write on a new topic we have not covered before on my blog.  This topic is Peer to Peer (P2P) lending.  In a nutshell, P2P lending is when you borrow money from many different people on the internet, instead of using a bank, or you invest money to other people who need it and enjoy higher returns than normal in other investment vehicles.

Credit cards are one of the most pervasive forms of your financial picture. On a daily basis, they provide the flexibility and freedom to reserve a hotel room, travel without carrying cash, and purchase just about anything at anytime.

We all know that the Federal Reserve (Fed) controls interest rates, but it is even more important to understand why they are adjusting them. Adjusting rates essentially increases and decreases the amount of money circulating within the economy. The Fed is acting as the throttle and the break for economic growth and inflation control. 

NEW YORK (Money) — After the Federal Reserve’s half-point cut in interest rates Tuesday, homeowners may experience some welcome – if small – relief. Borrowers with home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) will notice savings immediately, says Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The heat on U.S. mortgage lenders and servicers was turned up a few degrees this week when the country’s chief bank regulator publicly proposed that they permanently freeze interest rates on subprime adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) for many homeowners.

The President annouced a new plan last week to help borrowers who may go into default on their home loans due to adjustable rate mortgages. it definitely looks like it will help “some” people.It will offer “more relief to more homeowners, more quickly,” the president said. And it will include a five-year freeze on interest rates for borrowers current with their monthly payments.

In a nearly unprecedented move the Federal Reserve early Tuesday cut the Federal discount rate by .75 of a point, the largest single rate cut in 20 years. The move did not come at one of the Fed’s regularly scheduled meetings but rather overnight in response to some truly dreadful news from foreign stock exchanges over the last two days.

Hot on the heels of its surprise inter-session rate cut of 75 basis points last week, the Federal Reserve cut key interest rates again, the fifth straight cut since September 2007. In its statement last week, the Fed said it had decided to cut the federal funds rate “in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth.” In other words, economic data suggests the US is on the brink of recession, and the Fed is acting accordingly.