Bernanke's Low-Rate Fed Future

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August 28, 2009
Insider Newsletter A weekly summary of the best in BusinessWeek and BusinessWeek.com

NEWS  THIS WEEK'S TOP STORY Bernanke's Low-Rate Fed Future is Secure His reappointment means the federal funds rate will probably stay below 1% for at least another year

Editor's Memo So Fed Chief Ben Bernanke will hold on to his job for another four years. That's good for him, but what does it mean for the rest of us? It's likely to mean short-term interest rates will stay low, or so says BW Economics Editor Peter Coy in our Insider Top Story. Remember the Zune—Microsoft's "answer" to the iPod? No? Well, having realized it could not compete, Microsoft has reimagined its MP3 player. The Zune HD will function as an online service for a variety of devices. And check out our story on electric bikes and slide show on the coolest bike designs. You can't get much greener than these two-wheelers. And if you want, you can fork over $41,000 for something called the eRockit that almost reaches highway speed. Wear a helmet. —Katherine Davis

FROM THIS WEEK'S ISSUE OF BUSINESSWEEK THE FUTURE OF TECH A Radical Rethink of R&D It's a new world of collaboration across companies and nations. IBM is launching a major new experiment, while Microsoft keeps dreaming big. The question is whether anyone can come up with the breakthroughs to create millions of new jobs. IN DEPTH The Most Powerful Banker You've Never Heard of Lewis Kaden is the ultimate behind-the-scenes power player. Lobbying the White House for Citi may be his biggest role yet AUTOS Automakers Go on the Small-Car Offensive Nine new small cars are rolling out in the next 18 months, six from GM and Ford. Will they sell without the incentives of high gas prices and federal subsidies?   FROM BW.COM'S TECHNOLOGY CHANNEL DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT Microsoft Sings a New Zune The MP3 player also-ran is being repositioned as a service for delivering content to game consoles, cell phones—even PCs INTERNET Can Yahoo Make E-Mail Pay Off? Seeing Web e-mail as the glue that keeps users coming back, the Internet company is updating Yahoo! Mail for the social networking era   FROM BW.COM'S SMALLBIZ CHANNEL Beat Burnout Recognizing the signs and taking action can save your sanity and your business COMMUNICATIONS How to Give a Lousy Presentation Fifteen ways to make a bad impression SMART ANSWERS What's Up With Warehousing? More large companies are outsourcing to third-party logistics firms or putting "integrated warehousing" into effect   FROM BW.COM'S ASIA & EUROPE CHANNELS IMMIGRATION U.S. Immigration Battle Heats Up With Congress set to consider bills that deal with illegal immigrants and H-1B visa abuse, President Obama may find immigration reform a tough promise to keep ENERGY Israel Moves Toward Energy Independence The huge natural gas reserves off the country's Mediterranean coast are 16% bigger than estimated just one month ago   FROM BW.COM'S LIFESTYLE CHANNEL REAL ESTATE NEWS Why Rent When You Can Buy? In 20 metro areas around the U.S., the cost of buying a home is only a little more—and in two metros actually less—than renting VIEWPOINT Oil: The Return of Hype—and High Prices The oil companies are looking to raise prices again. And gullible media are letting them get away with it AIRLINES Will Long Flight Delays Speed a Passenger Rights Law? Airlines have long lobbied against federal rules governing flight delays, citing higher costs and operational hassles. Time may be running out   FROM BW.COM'S INNOVATION & DESIGN CHANNEL DESIGN Electric Bike Sales Are Zooming Ahead Biking is enjoying a surge of interest and new designs. But "e-bikes" are this year's hottest trend on two wheels INNOVATION Accenture Goes the Tailor-Made Route The consulting industry giant is teaming up with a startup and using open source hardware to custom-design packages for new clients   FROM BW.COM'S INVESTING CHANNEL INVESTING IPOs: Betting on Big Brands After nearly shutting down earlier this year, the IPO market has come to life. Following Hyatt and Dole Food, the latest big name to consider an offering is Dollar General GENE MARCIAL'S STOCK PICKS Marcial: Time to Hop Aboard Genesee & Wyoming? The lean, niche operator of short-line and regional freight railroads has steered through the downturn handily, kept prices firm, and is well capitalized  BW MALL   SPONSORED LINKS Financial Recruiting Software  Complete Talent Platform manages both pre/post-hire recruiting for Finance Ind. Applicant Tracking System  Complete Talent Platform, including Applicant Tracking, Onboarding, CRM and more Notre Dame Certificates ONLINE  Earn an Executive Certificate from Notre Dame Online! Enroll Now. Dowload Free CRM White Paper from SAP  Read this white paper, get the basics on CRM, and avoid the "CRM paradox” Talent Management for the 21st Century  Register to download this Harvard Business Review article. Buy a link now! This newsletter is a FREE service provided by BusinessWeek.com. To sign up for other newsletters, cancel delivery, change delivery options or change your e-mail address, please go to our Newsletter Preferences page. If you need other assistance, please contact Customer Service or contact: Wanda Cooper BusinessWeek Customer Rights Communications Data Services 1995 G Avenue Red Oak, IA 51566 Phone: 1-800-635-1200 View our corporate privacy policy here. To learn more about how BusinessWeek.com applies this policy, you can contact our Marketing Department. Copyright 2008, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Notice

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