Critique of Federal Reserve Podcast

Tiana and Sharonna's Podcast http://mmoloneyiths.com/econ/podcasts/fed/tiana-sharonna.mov">


This podcast was really good, especially compared to mine. They had a good set up of their information and how they answered the questions. The images coincide with the information that was being said throughout the podcast. Their voices were very clear and I could hear what they were saying perfectly. They discussed all the aspects of The Fed and even mentioned some things I did not know. The podcast wasnt outstandingly creative but it was somewhat creative. I would say this podcast was definately educational and interesting. Great sound effects Tiana.

Compound interests and the rule of 72

Compound interest is interest earned on previously accumulated interest as well as the principal. Compound interest is very good for saving and earning money because you accumulate "free" money. Compound interest keeps the money that you originally invested plus adds the extra or the interest money. An example of this is if you had $2000 in the bank and added $500 every year for 10 years with 5% annual interest (which is very very rare), you will have accumulated $9,800.!
The Rule of 72 is a rule that shows how long it will take to double the money you have invested. The rule is to divide the interest rate by 72 and the answer you get will be the number of years it will take to double the money you have invested. Example if you have $5000 invested with a 5% annual interest, it would take 14.4 years for your money to double (72/5.)

Insider Trades

There were 13 people arrested on March 1, 2007 accused of trading as insiders. The scheme involved 4 investment bankers, hedge funds, day traders, lawyers and even some supervisors who found out about the trading and blackmailed traders in order for them to keep quiet about the scheme. Nine of the defendants have been arrested and 4 pleaded guilty to crimes including bribery and securities fraud. The tactics that these traders used were all too familiar to the investigators: tipping traders about potential up/downgrades of stocks, leaking information about stock prices moving and potential stock mergers. Two of the men arrested met in Grand Centrals "Oyster Bar" to discuss debts owed to one another and exchange cash made from the profits of insider trading. One of the men would give his partner tips on rating changes and in return his partner would make quick changes to his funds and gain a huge profit. Over a 5 year period one of the accused men was said to have made over $5 million in illicit profits.

Dow Jones Down

Why did the Dow go down? The Dow went down because the Chinese stock market crashed. When the stocks crash people start selling their stocks for lower and lower amounts of money. This in turn makes the stock market go down. How does this decline compare to the other famous declines (Great Depression) ? this decline compares to other declines such as the depression because it affected people around the world. The GD happened in the United States but it ended up affecting many different countries around the world and international trade declined rapidly. This is very similar to what happened with the Dow. What will you do with your socks ? well I decided to buy some smaller stocks because they are cheaper now and they will probably make more money since the market went down. Is this a time to buy since prices went down? This would definately be the time to buy stocks since the prices went down. Stocks are less money now and they may have a much bigger gain soon.