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"We've got a lot more progress to go" on fixing racial disparities caused by the tax system

Jan 18, 2024
Dorothy Brown of Georgetown University has spent her career researching race and the tax code. Now, she advises the Treasury Department.
The Internal Revenue Service does not collect or publish statistics by race, but there is more to the story, says Dorothy Brown of Georgetown University.
J. David Ake/Getty Images

Why the Treasury Department's borrowing plan may overshadow Jay Powell's news conference

Nov 1, 2023
As the Fed wraps up its two-day meeting, economists are looking to the Treasury Department for details on how the federal government plans to borrow money through the end of the year.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Got old savings bonds lying around? Good luck cashing them.

Oct 12, 2023
New York Times reporter Rob Copeland dug into why it's become "so impossible" to cash a savings bonds these days.
To cash in a savings bond, you can either try a bank branch or mail it in to the U.S. Treasury.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Climbing 10-year Treasury yield signals costlier future for buying, borrowing

Aug 18, 2023
If the Federal Reserve needs to keep interest rates higher to continue battling inflation, 10-year yields will have to compete.
The Treasury Department is issuing a lot of bonds to pay for recent government spending. Above, a statue of Alexander Hamilton outside the agency's offices.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

When Yellen gets to China, just sitting down and talking will indicate progress

Jul 3, 2023
But there's no shortage of issues to discuss between the world's two largest economies.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with Chinese officials this week.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

What will happen once the debt ceiling deal is passed?

Jun 1, 2023
How will the Treasury act to make up for lost time?
After hitting the debt ceiling and taking extraordinary measures, "the Treasury Department has to replenish their checking account, basically," said George Mateyo Key Private Bank.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Native-serving financial institutions "fill gaps," but new federal rules could undermine them

May 10, 2023
Community development financial institutions are mostly concerned about a ban on extended-term mortgages and balloon payments.
When Joshua Iron Shell decided to start his own roofing business, a Native CDFI helped him get his finances in order and secure a loan.
Courtesy Joshua Iron Shell

For public good, not for profit.

The last time the U.S. almost defaulted on its loans, the consequences were expensive

Apr 17, 2023
The phrase "debt ceiling" brings some people right back to 2011, when the U.S. also went down to the wire.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy delivers a speech about the economy and debt ceiling at the New York Stock Exchange on April 17.  McCarthy said that “defaulting on our debt is not an option.” But neither McCarthy nor the White House are showing any signs of compromising.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Formerly a cash cow, the Fed is now losing "about $2 billion a week"

Feb 1, 2023
The central bank invested in securities to get the economy through the pandemic recession.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is seen in Washington, DC. The bank has been a source of government revenue for years following the 2008 financial crisis, but rising interest rates may soon change that.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. hit its debt ceiling. Now it's time for “extraordinary measures.”

Jan 19, 2023
Basically, Treasury will have to move money around so it can keep paying the country’s most important bills. At least for a little while longer.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that her department would have to take "extraordinary measures" to keep the U.S. government from defaulting on its debt.
Alex Wong/Getty Images