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We like to think that when we deposit a dollar at the bank, it goes into a big vault and we can pull out that same dollar at any time. But that¿s not how the U.S. banking system works. Banks take that money and invest it to make money themselves, so cash gets spread around. This, naturally, leads to a big risk: What happens if those investments go sour? Well, you¿d be out of luck. You can¿t get your dollar back.
The Federal Reserve doesn¿t like that scenario, so it prohibits banks from putting all the cash it has on deposit on the line. In fact, the Fed forces banks to keep a portion of their assets at the Federal Reserve itself, to make sure that some of your assets won¿t get squandered if the bank¿s bets go south. These are called ¿reserves,¿ (hence, Federal Reserve. Got it? Good), and usually amount to 10% of the total cash kept in checking accounts.
These reserves are never exactly 10%, and banks like to keep a little extra in reserve ¿ not, as you might think, to make you more comfortable that they¿re in good financial shape, but rather so they can take that excess and lend it to other banks and make money off it. (They¿re banks, they can¿t help themselves.) The rate at which they make these loans is called the Federal Funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve¿s Federal Open Market Committee.
When you hear people chattering about how the Fed cut or hiked interest rates, this is what they¿re talking about: the interest rate banks can charge for lending money from their reserves. This begs the question: If these are essentially loans between banks, why is the Fed Funds rate so important for the rest of the economy?
Well, simply put, because loans make the financial world go round. Bank A lends Bank B $10,000 at a Fed Funds rate of 5%. Bank B then lends out $10,000 to a small business at 7%. The small business then takes that money and expands the business and hires new workers. Now someone is employed, Bank B has made interest off the loan, and Bank A is the richer for making it all happen. It¿s perhaps overly simplistic, but you get the idea. When you want the economy to thrive, you make lending cheaper.
Of course, sometimes you don¿t want the economy to thrive. In fact, you might want it to cool down, mostly to avoid money flooding the system and causing inflation. In that case, the Fed raises interest rates, making it difficult to lend or borrow.
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Comcast Announces More Than 1,000 HD Choices Available -- the Most HD Content Anytime, Anywhere
Comtex
PHILADELPHIA, Oct 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----As HD viewing skyrockets, Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today announced that it now has more than 1,000 high-definition (HD) viewing choices, delivering on the company's commitment to significantly increase HD programming by year end. This announcement also marks a major milestone for Project Infinity, Comcast's vision to give consumers the ability to watch any movie, television show, user generated content or other video that a producer wants to make available On Demand.
"Consumers can't get enough HD, so we're now offering over a thousand HD choices, five times more than last year. However, it's not just about HD volume, but about having the highest-quality content consumers really want, whether they want to watch live or on their schedule," said Derek Harrar, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Video Services for Comcast. "With the best HD movies, top-rated HD shows and the hottest HD music all On Demand ... we're delivering the future of HD television, today."
HD Explosion
With the availability of more than 1,000 HD choices, the company strengthens its industry-leading position of providing more choices on TV than anyone else, feeding the insatiable appetite consumers have for HD content. Recent HD trends include:
-- The proportion of viewing time spent with HD has increased nearly 50 percent in four years.(1)
-- Over the next three years, the total number of HD households receiving HD service is expected to increase by 90 percent or 53 million households.(2)
-- Of homes with HD cable, 27 percent now have two or more HD sets hooked up to cable HD.(3)
With 1,000 HD choices, Comcast is delivering the HD programming that aligns with what consumers want to watch and how they want to watch it, for example:
-- live HD sporting events through all of the major local broadcasters, Comcast SportsNet, ESPN and ESPN2, TBS, TNT, Versus, etc.;
-- more than 200 HD movies from top movie providers; supporting recent findings that in spite of how many HD movies are already out there in HD, 65 percent of HD viewers want more;(4)
-- nearly 300 television shows including highly acclaimed television series like Mad Men, Weeds and the CSI series, available on linear and on HD On Demand the day after they air; and
-- hundreds of music offerings in the music category, which is one of the most popular categories currently On Demand.
Mirroring Comcast's content strategy, a recent independent study outlined that HD viewers listed their favorite things to watch in HD as: sports, movies, TV shows and music respectively. And, when asked how they wanted to watch, respondents answered: sports live (78 percent), movies on their schedule (81 percent), TV shows on their schedule (65 percent) and music on their schedule (60 percent).(5)
On Demand Usage Continues to Grow Exponentially
Every month, Comcast customers choose On Demand programming more than 300 million times. Currently Comcast's On Demand lineup offers more than 10,000 selections each month and includes everything from movies, music and top TV shows to the most popular kids, sports and lifestyle programs -- available anytime consumers want to watch them, with the ability to fast forward, rewind and pause selections.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. With 24.6 million cable customers, 14.4 million high-speed Internet customers, and 5.6 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.
Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten Comcast SportsNets networks and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (www.comcast.net). Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.
(1) Recent national study by Frank N. Magid Associates.
(2) Recent national study by LRG, Jupiter, Yankee, MAGNA, Horowitz and Kagan research.
(3) Recent national study by Frank N. Magid Associates.
(4) Frank N. Magid Associates
(5) 2007 Omnibus study conducted by ICR, an independent research company.
SOURCE: Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation Alana Davis, 215-286-5211 alana_davis@comcast.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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