Advantages to Eating Healthy
State of the U.S Economy
Wendi Smotherman
FP/120
11/13/2012
Pratik Chauhan
Expanding Economy
I feel the economy is expanding. The reason I feel this way is due to the declining inflation and unemployment rates. The interest rates in the U.S. are also slightly declining.
Prime Rate The current prime rate is a commonly used short term interest rate used in the banking system in the United States. The current prime rate is 3.25% in the U.S. All types of American lending institutions (traditional banks, credit unions, etc.) use the U.S. prime rate as an index or foundation rate for pricing.
Current Interest Rate on Credit Cards Interest rate on new credit card offers dipped slightly this week. The national average annual percentage rate on new credit cards feel to 14.92%, making this the first week in nearly two months interest rates declined. Consumers have little reason to celebrate the dip in rates, however. This week’s decline was tiny by just a hundredth of a percentage point. Meanwhile, the national average continues to hover near record highs and shows no sign of dropping significantly any time soon. To get a sense of just how average interest rate fluctuates, consider this. In the past nine months interest rates have fell below 14.9% only once then dropped again in February 2012 before surging the following week. In general, average interest rates fluctuated far more often and by wider margins than in previous years, climbing by nearly two full percentage points in 2010. Unemployment Rate The unemployment rate measures the percentage of unemployed people in a countries work force who are over the age of 16 and who have either lost their job or have unsuccessfully sought jobs in the last month and are still actively seeking work. The current unemployment rate is 7.99%. An example of how the
Wendi Smotherman
FP/120
11/13/2012
Pratik Chauhan
Expanding Economy
I feel the economy is expanding. The reason I feel this way is due to the declining inflation and unemployment rates. The interest rates in the U.S. are also slightly declining.
Prime Rate The current prime rate is a commonly used short term interest rate used in the banking system in the United States. The current prime rate is 3.25% in the U.S. All types of American lending institutions (traditional banks, credit unions, etc.) use the U.S. prime rate as an index or foundation rate for pricing.
Current Interest Rate on Credit Cards Interest rate on new credit card offers dipped slightly this week. The national average annual percentage rate on new credit cards feel to 14.92%, making this the first week in nearly two months interest rates declined. Consumers have little reason to celebrate the dip in rates, however. This week’s decline was tiny by just a hundredth of a percentage point. Meanwhile, the national average continues to hover near record highs and shows no sign of dropping significantly any time soon. To get a sense of just how average interest rate fluctuates, consider this. In the past nine months interest rates have fell below 14.9% only once then dropped again in February 2012 before surging the following week. In general, average interest rates fluctuated far more often and by wider margins than in previous years, climbing by nearly two full percentage points in 2010. Unemployment Rate The unemployment rate measures the percentage of unemployed people in a countries work force who are over the age of 16 and who have either lost their job or have unsuccessfully sought jobs in the last month and are still actively seeking work. The current unemployment rate is 7.99%. An example of how the
References: Rate Survey Credit Card Interest Rate Down Slightly (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.foxbusiness.com Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wsjprimerate.us and federalprimerate.com National Economic Rates (n.d.). Retrieved from bea.gov.