Get ready: Interest rate hikes bring good and bad (AP)

The rate hikes are coming! The rate hikes are coming!

By Forexyard: By Russell Glaser Meeting minutes from the last monetary policy meeting for the Riksbank shows the Executive Board is ready tighten interest rates further should inflationary pressures fail to subside. This would likely lead to gains in the Swedish krona but the SEK remains pressured due to events in Europe.

The situation in Spain to another sharp turn for the worse. Employment looses are the greatest since 2009, tax revenue is declining, the deficit is increasing and the IIF wants inane tax hikes. GDP Poised to Plunge, Deficit Poised to Rise

Michelle Galanter Applebaum submits: Baosteel Increasing February Sheet PricesAccording to press reports, China’s price leader Baosteel announced a planned 5% price increase on flat-rolled steel for February shipments, marking the third consecutive monthly rise. With January hikes now sticking well, we expect to see further price increases announced in China as well as Europe and the US.

(LONDON) — An interest rate cut from the European Central Bank and hints it may take further measures failed to give European markets a lift Thursday amid ongoing worries about the state of the eurozone economy. U.S. stocks recovered their poise in the run-up to monthly payrolls data Friday. The euro was a big loser Thursday after Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank’s president, said the institution was ready to charge banks that decide to keep deposits at the bank. A negative deposit rate would ostensibly push banks to lend more rather than hoard cash.

By S.R.T.Z Investments: Are REITS Ready For Future Interest Rate Hikes ? REITs have been booming lately. Sure, this is a strong statement that may not be right for 100% of the REITs out there, but generally speaking, the recovery in the stock market since 2009 did not miss them, to say the least. There are several REIT types. The ones I am interested in are equity REITs; they buy real estate for the rent and capital gains and profits are paid to shareholders as dividends.

One of the things many of us think about as children is growing up and buying a house. It seems like the crux of reaching adulthood. But if you take the leap into homeownership before you’re ready, you could quickly fall into a financial disaster that may take years from which to recover.