Puzzle Pieces: Stories of Economic Relevance

Fed bumps up rate banks pay for emergency loans - (AP - 2/18/2010) - The Federal Reserve decided Thursday to boost the rate banks pay for emergency loans. The action is part of a broader move to pull back the extraordinary aid it provided to fight the financial crisis.

Jitters over China’s waning taste for T-bills - (Financial Times - 2/18/2010) - If Chinese demand for Treasuries disappeared and it started selling, US interest rates would rise, analysts say. This could throttle a US economic recovery, damage Chinese exports, and also reduce the value of China’s existing vast holdings of Treasuries as yields rose and prices fell, damaging a key plank of its currency reserves.

Walmart suffers first US sales decline - (Financial Times - 2/18/2010) - Walmart has suffered its first fall in quarterly sales at its US discount stores, underlining the challenges facing future growth in its home market as the economy recovers.

Jobless, price data fan concerns on economy - (Reuters - 2/18/2010) - The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly surged last week, while producer prices increased sharply in January, raising potential hurdles for the economy's recovery. Another report from the department showed prices paid at the farm and factory gate (Producer Price Index) rose a faster-than-expected 1.4 percent from December as higher gasoline prices and unusually cold temperatures helped boost energy costs. (Hound - 1.4% monthly translates to 16.8% annualized producer inflation)