Securing decent retirement income in a low-yield environment is going to be a problem for a long time. Seniors who have been eking by through temporary measures need to find a permanent solution.
Is the Federal Reserve going to start buying bonds again to stimulate the economy? Some 69% of economists polled in a Bloomberg News survey think so, with 36% of those tagging the first quarter of 2012 as the time for such action.
Consumers are issuing a big vote of "no confidence" in the economy — and that's holding back the stock market.
When Fed Chief Ben Bernanke said he would hold short-term interest rates near zero for at least two more years, the stock market, at least initially, whooped it up. In the middle of the party, though, millions of retirees suffered a virtual stroke.
Today we were treated to the second installment of the Federal Reserve’s new policy of openness with Chairman Ben Bernanke’s press conference. And while Bernanke can always be counted on to give measured, intelligent answers, he can also be counted on to say nothing that remotely rocks the proverbial boat of conventional wisdom.
“As your parents always said, money doesn’t buy happiness. Well, an economist might reply, at least not by itself.”
Does anyone see a conflict here?
