CASCADE
FUNDING, INC.
CASCADE
FUNDING, INC.
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This is where we'll announce recent additions to our web site and news worthy events affecting our industry and how they affect recipients of future payments. If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed, take a look here first.
03/18/08
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed a key interest rate by three-fourths of a percentage point, moving aggressively to contain a credit crisis threatening to push the country into a severe recession. The latest action brought the federal funds rate _ the interest that banks charge each other _ down to 2.25 percent, the lowest point since late 2004. It marked the second cut of three-fourths of a percentage point this year. The first occurred at an emergency meeting on Jan. 22 and was followed by a half-point cut at a regular meeting on Jan. 30. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues have now cut the funds rate six times since last September, with the reductions becoming more aggressive since January as the central bank has faced growing turmoil in global financial markets. In explaining its actions, the Fed said that it was having to navigate a difficult policy environment that included sluggish economic activity and rising inflation pressures. The Fed statement said that "the outlook for economic activity has weakened further" but that "inflation has been elevated" with some signs that expectations of future inflation pressures are rising, a dangerous sign for the Fed. But the Fed signaled that it stood ready to cut rates further if necessary, saying that "downside risks to growth remain." Bernanke and other Fed officials have said in recent comments that they view the threat of economic weakness as a bigger risk at the moment than inflation given the risks to financial markets. "Financial markets remain under considerable stress and the tightening of credit conditions and the deepening of the housing contraction are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters," the Fed said in its statement.
01/30/08
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut a key interest rate for the second time in just over a week, reducing the federal funds rate by a half point. It signaled that further rate cuts were possible. The Fed action pushed the funds rate to 3 percent. It followed a three-fourths of a percentage point cut on Jan. 22, a day after financial markets around the world had plummeted on fears that the U.S. economy was heading into a recession. That decrease had been the biggest one-day move in more than two decades. The half-point cut Wednesday followed news that the economy had slowed significantly in the final three months of last year with the gross domestic product expanding at a barely discernible pace of 0.6 percent, less than half what had been expected. The report came amid increased concern from several quarters about a possible recession.
01/22/08
The Federal Reserve, confronted with a global stock sell-off fanned by increased fears of a recession, slashed a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday and indicated further rate cuts were likely. The surprise reduction in the federal funds rate from 4.25 down to 3.5 percent marked the biggest one-day rate move by the central bank since it cut its discount rate by a full percentage point in December 1991, a period when the country was struggling to get out of a recession. Analysts said the Fed will likely delay cutting rates further at its Jan. 29-30 meeting but will probably keep moving rates down aggressively as the economy continues to weaken. "This move is not an instant fix," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "The economy is still staring recession in the face, but at least the Fed now gets it." In addition to cutting the funds rate, the Fed said it was reducing its discount rate, the interest it charges to make direct loans to banks, by a similar three-quarters of a percentage point, pushing this rate down to 4 percent. Commercial banks responded to the Fed's action on the funds rate by announcing similar cuts of three-quarter of a percent on its prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of business and consumer loans. The action will mean the prime lending rate will drop from 7.25 percent down to 6.50 percent. The Fed action was the most dramatic signal it can send that it is concerned about a potential recession in the United States.
12/12/07
The Fed's policymaking committee cut the federal funds rate, at which banks make overnight loans to each other, by a quarter percentage point, to 4.25 percent. The third rate cut this year is likely to trickle through to interest rates on credit cards, business loans and some adjustable-rate mortgages. But investors had hoped for a half-point cut, or at least a clearer signal that the central bank will cut rates again in the future, and stocks plummeted. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 294 points for the day, a 2.1 percent drop.
11/01/07
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 4.5 percent Wednesday, moving to spark the U.S. economy amid conflicting economic signals
9/19/07
For the first time since 2003, the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate Tuesday, meaning borrowers should see rates drop on a variety of loans. The Fed also left the door open to further rate cuts to prevent a painful housing slump and jarring credit crunch from driving the country into recession. In the anxiously awaited decision, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues lowered the target federal funds rate — which determines what banks pay to borrow money from each other overnight — by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent.
8/17/07
Stocks soared Friday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials up more than 180 points, after the Federal Reserve, acknowledging that the stock market's plunge posed a threat to the economy, slashed its discount rate by a half percentage point. The central bank's step, which Wall Street was angling for, gave the market a boost after weeks of losses fueled by turmoil in the credit markets. The Fed has poured billions in additional liquidity into the banking system in recent days — on Friday, it added $6 billion — but the rate cut was its most dramatic effort yet to alleviate fears about tightening credit and calm the global financial markets. The Fed cut the discount rate to 5.75 percent from 6.25 percent, declaring that "downside risks" to the economy have increased appreciably. However, the central bank did not change its target for the federal funds rate, which has remained at 5.25 percent for more than a year. Many strategists believes the market won't settle down until the Fed lowers the fed funds rate — the rate banks charge each other on overnight loans. The discount rate only covers loans the Fed makes to banks. It was too early to tell how much of the buying was a relief rally after weeks of losses, and whether the gains would stick. The market has quickly given back any advances it has scored in recent weeks amid growing signs of problems in the credit markets. For investors, the question is whether the discount rate cut is a signal that the Fed is seriously leaning toward cutting the fed funds rate, considered a more important benchmark, at its next meeting on Sept. 18.
6/29/07
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Thursday, extending a yearlong breather for borrowers. Although policymakers observed improvements on inflation, they made clear they were not ready to declare victory on that front.
6/1/07
JUSTICE PREVAILS!
FTC Obtains Judgment of More Than $17 Million for Consumers. Judge Finds Misrepresentations Made to Sell Workshops, Seminars, Videos, and Other Products.
Follow this link: http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/05/stefanchik.shtm.
This is entirely consistent with the information we provide regarding companies that sell Note Brokering, Note Buying courses to the public. Read our information here: http://www.cascadefunding.com/brokers.htm.
This is the conclusion of the FTC investigation and action see below (1/19/05).
5/10/07
The wait goes on for borrowers looking for some interest-rate relief. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held rates steady and many economists think rates could stay put for most — if not all — of this year. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central-bank colleagues left an important interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, where it has stood for nearly a year. The Fed's decision means that commercial banks' prime interest rate — for certain credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other loans — stays at 8.25 percent.
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2/1/07
Now there is encouraging news on inflation, and the economy is revving up. So Bernanke and his central-bank colleagues Wednesday held a key interest rate steady at 5.25 percent and extended a half-year breather for U.S. borrowers. To fend off inflation, the Fed steadily boosted interest rates for two years, the longest stretch in its history. But since summer, it has left rates alone. Economists believe the Fed is on course to achieve its goal of slowing the economy sufficiently to thwart inflation but not so much as to seriously hurt economic activity
6/23/06
Mortgage rates rose this week, with 30-year mortgages climbing to the highest level in more than four years on investor fears about inflation...Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to a nationwide average of 6.71 percent, up from 6.63 percent last week. It was the highest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.76 percent the week of May 31, 2002. The Fed meets next week and financial markets now view it as a virtual certainty that the central bank will boost rates for a 17th consecutive time. "Financial markets believe that the current rate of inflation is above the Fed's comfort zone, which will lead to more rate hikes in the near future," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. Nothaft said there is growing concern among markets that the Fed also will raise rates at its August meeting.
Editor's Note: As interest rates increase the value of future payments from Notes decrease. This means less cash for people selling notes. If you believe interest rates will continue to rise, and you are considering selling your note, the best advice would be to do it sooner rather than later. (As of this writing, Cascade Funding, Inc. is still purchasing notes based on 2001 interest rates -- but this definitely will not last much longer, especially if the current trends continue.)
3/29/06
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday (3/28/06) boosted a key interest rate to the highest level in five years as new Chairman Ben Bernanke followed the Alan Greenspan inflation-fighting formula. The action, the 15th consecutive quarter-point move, left the federal-funds target rate at 4.75 percent, its highest level since April 2001. The Fed's latest move will mean higher interest rates for both consumers and businesses. KeyCorp was the first bank to announce it was raising its prime lending rate by a similar quarter-point to 7.75 percent. The prime is the benchmark for millions of business and consumer loans. Many analysts believe the Fed ... may feel the need to push the funds rate up to 5 percent. However, other analysts who are more worried about inflation pressures say the Fed may feel the need to boost rates not only at the next meeting on May 10 but also at perhaps two more meetings after that, leaving the funds rate at 5.5 percent.
11/02/05
Fed officials unanimously agreed to lift their benchmark federal-funds rate to 4 percent from 3.75 percent, for a 12th consecutive increase since June 2004, when the rate was at a 40-year low of 1 percent. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues on the committee indicated they view the rate as low enough to stimulate economic activity and said they would probably keep lifting it at a "measured" pace, which has come to mean a quarter-percentage-point increase at each scheduled committee meeting.
1/19/05
FTC Obtains Preliminary Injunction Against Sellers of Real Estate Investment Training Program
A U.S. District Court Judge has found that the Federal Trade Commission has “demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits” against two of the defendants named in the FTC’s action against two companies and two individuals selling an investment business opportunity. The FTC alleged in its complaint that defendants John Stefanchik and the Beringer Corporation deceptively marketed and sold a business opportunity for buying and selling privately-held mortgage notes, commonly referred to as mortgage “paper,” ...
Follow this link to read the rest of the Press Release: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/01/stefanchik.htm
12/14/04
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Tuesday (12/14/04) for a fifth time this year and signaled that it intends to continue pushing up borrowing costs for businesses and consumers at a "measured" pace. The Fed has raised short-term lending levels by 1.25 percentage points since beginning its tightening cycle in late June (2004) when the federal funds rate was at a 46-year low of 1 percent. The Fed's decisions influence a range of other short-term rates including the prime rate, for top business and individual customers, which was expected to rise to 5.25 percent after the latest move. Market expectations are that the central bank will raise rates another quarter-point Feb. 2, 2005, when it concludes its first meeting of 2005.
10/8/04
The Federal Reserve Bank has begun to raise interest rates, two times so far this year. Note investor buy rates have not yet been affected in most cases; however, the trend is clear. If rates continue to rise, it will only be a matter of time before yields on long term investments will rise. Usually these increases happen quickly and dramatically in anticipation of future fed hikes. If you are a holder of a real estate Note and are considering selling it, chances are that selling it now will provide the greatest cash.
9/28/04
The FTC has begun a lawsuit against one of the seminar gurus selling Note Brokering courses. See the complaint and news release here: http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0223246/0223246.htm. (Note: This link will be time-sensitive. If it doesn't work, it is because the FTC has removed the page due to a change in the status of the case. See above news items for updates to this case.)
6/25/03
Check out the Note Brokers page for a new warning just issued. This information may prove useful to anyone considering a note brokering course, program, or online note exchange.
12/12/01
The Federal Reserve Bank has lowered interest rates 11 times this year. This has led to a decrease in the yields required by investors when purchasing future payments. This results in greater cash offers to note sellers. In fact, because interest rates are at their lowest levels in 40 years, the price we are paying for future payments on notes has never been greater in the history of our industry. Therefore, if you are considering selling all or part of your real estate note, now is the time to do it. Don't wait until interest rates begin to rise again.
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