CONTAINING LINKS TO 1280 STORIES FROM THE NETWORKS' NIGHTLY NEWSCASTS
     COMMENTS: Lower Cost of Money

NBC had Carl Quintanilla of CNBC, its sibling financial cable news channel, lead off its newscast with the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. He reported that the move was designed to help the real estate market. Nowhere was it "more welcome than Las Vegas, Ground Zero for the housing crisis, with 30,000 homes on the market unsold." Nevertheless "we do not know the effect it will have on the housing market--and will not know for months." CBS' Anthony Mason added that while Fed's lower rates translate to lower rates on mortgages "with the meltdown in sub-prime mortgages many buyers are still having trouble getting loans."

Quintanilla's colleague at CNBC Maria Bartiromo pointed out the line in the Federal Reserve Board's statement that the risk of inflation is now equal with the risk of recession: "Maybe the Fed will not cut interest rates again," she suggested. ABC's Barbara Pinto (subscription required) reported on Gross Domestic Product growth statistics for the year's third quarter that were "surprisingly good…the biggest jump in a year and a half." Weakness in the value of the dollar helped keep the economy growing by boosting exports. Economists warned however that "the flurry of foreclosures and credit troubles have yet to fully hit consumers in the wallet." And the downside of the falling dollar is that "surging oil prices will also hurt."

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