Ahead of the South Carolina primary, former Vice President Joe Biden released a $640 billion housing plan that is designed to provide access to affordable, safe and energy-efficient homes that are “located near good schools and with a reasonable commute to their jobs.” Biden’s 5,200-word plan includes a refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000 for people buying their first homes; the creation of a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to build new and improve existing affordable housing; and ending “discriminatory and unfair practices” in the housing market. “Housing should be a right, not a privilege. Far too many Americans lack access to affordable and quality housing,” the Biden campaign said in announcing the plan. “Nationwide, we have a…
Housing was not a major – or even passing – area of focus in Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, though the issue of redlining came up a few times as candidates discussed tax policy and each other’s records. (Redlining is the practice of denying mortgages – or other goods or services – to whole neighborhoods on the basis of race or ethnicity. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 made all redlining practices illegal.) Here’s a look at what the candidates had to say on the issue: Senator Elizabeth Warren referred to former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s record, accusing him of supporting redlining in the past. SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN: Democrats are not going to win if we have a…
With the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its January meeting, economists told CNBC on Wednesday they expect interest rates to hold steady throughout the year, given the state of the economy and the fact that it is an election year. RBC Capital Markets economist Tom Porcelli and Kevin Caron of Washington Crossing appeared on “Power Lunch” to discuss interest rates. Watch below.…
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg announced Tuesday
he would merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government-owned
mortgage guarantor, as part of a larger package of initiatives “to reform Wall
Street and put the financial system to work for every American.” An announcement
from the Bloomberg campaign said merging Fannie and Freddie would “ensure
taxpayers are properly compensated for loan guarantees and low-income
households are well served.” Bloomberg said his plan would gradually merge Fannie and
Freddie into a single, fully government-owned mortgage guarantor, “to ensure
that taxpayers are fully compensated for the risks they are assuming – and that
lower-income households are well served.” The plan calls for the guarantor to transfer downside risk
to private investors…
The
Federal Reserve announced today that it is leaving interest rates steady,
citing a growing economy and a strong jobs market. The Fed voted unanimously to
keep the overnight lending rate at 1.5 to 1.75 percent. “The
Committee judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate to
support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market
conditions, and inflation returning to the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent
objective,” the Fed said in a
statement.
“The Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming
information for the economic outlook, including global developments and muted
inflation pressures, as it assesses the appropriate path of the target range
for the federal funds rate.” Looking
ahead, the Fed said, “In determining the…
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