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The fed funds effective rate, currently set at 2.4 percent, is the Federal Reserve’s key policy rate. The market move suggests investors believe the U.S. central bank will not be able to continue to tighten monetary policy as its forecast suggests, after having lifted benchmark interest rates four times in 2018. “This is a big deal,” said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets. SPONSORED “The market is effectively saying that at some point in the next 24 months, the Fed is going to have to not only stop hiking, but actively start easing.” Treasury yields fell on Thursday after data showed a significant drop in U.S. manufacturing activity, extending overnight losses prompted by a revenue warning issued by Apple ( AAPL.O ) that sent investors fleeing to safe-haven instruments. A report from the Institute of Supply Management showed that U.S. factory activity slowed more than expected in December. The ISM index fell to 54.1 from 59.3 in Novembe...

Mentally, I'm a very organized person, but I've never claimed the same for my physical surroundings. The various apartments I've lived in over the years would never win any compliments or prizes for cleanliness, and I can chalk this reality up to a couple of reasons: lack of time and, more often than not, pure laziness. I know logically that a clean living environment contributes to happier, more productive inhabitants, but like many people, I just hate cleaning. With so many rooms and appliances to clean, and a strong desire to do literally anything else with my time, I found a variety of tools and gadgets that will do most if not all the work for me. While a few of them may take some initial setup and getting used to, in the end they'll cut down on time and labor, and you'll definitely notice the difference. Keep scrolling to see how you can make your life a lot easier with these cleaning tools. A robot vacuum that connects to Wi-FI iRobot ...

Because buyers are generally trash at forward-thinking and looking ahead, 2019's overdue downturn will probably yield many of the same things that the last recession from 10 years ago did: A sweeping and dramatic switch from buying crossovers and SUVs to lining up to buy compacts and economy cars. Why do I think a recession is coming? Why, in the face of terrifically low unemployment and incredibly high consumer confidence, would such a thing even be on my mind? For one, because consumer debt,  especially car debt , is at an all-time high. We’re facing a trade war that affects our exports and our domestic production. And there’s a cooling housing sector, according to the  The Atlantic . None of these things are great long-term. And should gas prices spike again, there’s just no way that filling up those big trucks and SUVs is sustainable—or affordable. Plus, the big cars are generally much more expensive to buy or lease than the smaller ones. Buyers who are strapped for...

SAN JOSE SANTA CLARA – Real estate agent Myron Von Raesfeld sold 30 homes in North Carolina in the last six months, making him one of the top agents in the Raleigh-Durham market — from his desk 2,778 miles away in Santa Clara. Von Raesfeld, CEO of Windermere Silicon Valley, is advising homeowners and investors to sell high in California and move their assets outside the state. The payoff: more cash in hand, and a better quality of life. “It’s a great time to sell in California,” he said. “This makes a lot of sense.” Even as the Bay Area real estate market cools, agents specializing in moving people out of the region report very brisk business. They’re becoming experts on everything from economic forecasts for Memphis, Tennessee to annual snowfall in Boise, Idaho. The outward migration from the Bay Area has accelerated, with more people leaving the region than any other spot in the country. Driven by a strong economy, the region’s...

The Hunter’s long-term economic fortunes remain perilously linked to the boom and bust cycle of the mining industry, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.  While surges in the thermal coal price can produce the equivalent of an economic sugar hit to the regional economy, the effects of a slight downturn are also felt far more acutely within the local economy than at a state or national level. Economists are now concerned about the ongoing effect that the mining industry’s infamous ‘boom-bust’ cycle is having on regional economic sustainability. A House of Representatives committee hearing recently held in Singleton was told the Hunter’s exposure to the industry  produced marked differences in economic trends in the Hunter compared to NSW. Hunter Research Foundation lead economist Anthea Bill told the hearing that a decline in global coal prices to about US$56 a tonne saw a 15 per cent decline in employme...

TOKYO -- In the growing market for liquefied natural gas, driven mainly by Asian demand, a shortage of transport vessels could become a bottleneck. While demand for LNG shipments to China is steadily growing as the country increases its consumption of eco-friendly natural gas, the supply of ships is not keeping pace with growing demand for spot charters.  Spot charter rates for LNG carriers with a tank capacity of 150,000-170,000 cu. meters stood at the $190,000 per day range in November, five times higher than in early May. The market environment has changed considerably since 2015-2016, when the rates were around $20,000-30,000 per day amid anxiety about a glut of vessels. "We did not expect that we would run short of vessels so quickly," said a person in charge of LNG carriers at a major Japanese shipping company.  A major reason behind the high charter rates is a surge in gas demand in China. In a drive to reduce serious air pollution, China is rapidly swit...