FOX Translator
No data currently available.
No data currently available.
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.
Home
Friday, July 25, 2008
Cumberland County Woman Wins $1 Million Top Raffle Prize From Pennsylvania Lottery
Comtex
LEMOYNE, Pa., July 25, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ ----All Four $1 Million Top Prizes Claimed
A Cumberland County woman who won $1 million cash, one of four top prizes in the Pennsylvania Lottery's July 5 Millionaire Raffle, received her winnings today.
Lottery Executive Director Ed Trees presented a ceremonial check to Sharon Burke of Camp Hill, at Tenth Street Station, a gas station at 10th and Lowther streets in Lemoyne where she purchased the winning ticket.
Sharon and her husband, John, own American Library Contracting Inc., a family business based in Camp Hill. Burke already has a few plans for her winnings, including a new car and a vacation for herself and her husband.
All four of the $1 million winning Raffle tickets have been claimed and validated.
In addition to Burke, winners of $1 million are Paul Gamber of Washington, Washington County, who purchased his winning ticket at Sheffield Delicatessen in Aliquippa, Beaver County; Helen Toto of Wilmington, Delaware, who purchased her winning ticket at Marrone's Delicatessen in West Grove, Chester County; and Marlin Greeninger of Lebanon, who purchased his winning ticket at Zweier's Foodkart in Lebanon.
Each of the Raffle's $20 tickets offered a 1-in-125,000 chance of winning $1 million, the best odds ever offered by the Pennsylvania Lottery for winning a $1 million prize.
The winning raffle ticket numbers were randomly selected at 7 p.m. on July 5 during the Lottery's live drawing show. The four $1 million top-prize raffle ticket numbers selected were: 00351737, 00338908, 00234572, and 00110230. The four $100,000 second-prize raffle ticket numbers were: 00479671, 00260077, 00234155, and 00057161. A complete list of all 6,000 winning raffle ticket numbers is available at Lottery retail locations and at www.palottery.com.
The four $1 million top-prize raffle ticket numbers; four $100,000 second-prize ticket numbers; 100 prizes of $1,000 each; and 5,892 prizes of $100 each -- a total of 6,000 prizes -- came from a pool of 500,000 tickets that were sold between May 1 and July 4.
About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception 36 years ago, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more than $18.3 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free and reduced-fare transit; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term care services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including more than 600 full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state. The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. Players must be 18 or older.
For more information on the Pennsylvania Lottery, visit www.palottery.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: In the past fiscal year, Lottery players in Cumberland County won more than $31 million in prizes. The Pennsylvania Lottery contributed more than $10 million to programs that benefited seniors in the county, and Lottery retailers in Cumberland County earned more than $2.9 million in commissions and bonuses.
CONTACT: Veronica Sinclair-Anderson
(717) 702-8008
SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery
http://www.palottery.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Market Snapshot
| Symbol | Last Price | Netchange | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
