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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.
Home / Markets / Industries / Technology
Friday, May 09, 2008
Scanner Technologies Expects Favorable Ruling from Court of Appeals
Comtex
MINNEAPOLIS, May 09, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Scanner Technologies Corporation (OTCBB:SCNI) today announced that it expects a favorable ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit later this year. The Court of Appeals heard oral argument on May 9, 2008 for Scanner's appeal of a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
In 2007 the New York Court found several of Scanner's patents related to BGA manufacturing unenforceable due to "inequitable conduct" before the U.S. Patent Office and ordered Scanner to pay ICOS Vision Systems fees and costs of $3.4 million.
During the May 9 hearing, the Court of Appeals asked attorneys representing ICOS to point out false statements in the record that were made by Scanner to the Patent Office. ICOS attorneys were able to provide inferences, but could not find any false statements relied on by the Patent Office to advance Scanner's patent applications. The Court of Appeals stated that favorable inferences should not be made for one of the parties without consideration of inferences favorable to both sides.
This reasoning contradicts the New York Court's rulings which made Scanner's patents unenforceable and awarded fees to ICOS because it found that Scanner had made material misrepresentations to the Patent Office. The Court of Appeals has previously stated in other cases that evidence needed to support an award for attorney fees must be clear and convincing.
Scanner's CEO Elwin Beaty said, "Scanner did not attempt to mislead the Patent Office in any way. We are confident the Court of Appeals will rule that our patents are enforceable and reverse the award of fees to ICOS."
About Scanner Technologies Corporation:
Scanner is a New Mexico corporation that invents, develops and markets vision inspection products that are used in the semiconductor industry for the inspection of integrated circuits. Scanner's headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has a manufacturing facility in Tempe, Arizona. Scanner's stock is traded on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol "SCNI." For more information please visit www.scannertech.com.
Certain statements contained in this press release such as "expect" and "confident" and other written and oral statements made from time to time by the Company do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. As such, they are considered forward-looking statements which provide current expectations or forecasts of future events. The statement included in this release with respect to a favorable ruling and reversal of previous court decisions are forward looking statements. These statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, including, among others, the risks that an adverse ruling will force Scanner into bankruptcy or that Scanner business will decline even with a favorable ruling. Additional risks related to the Company's business are set forth in the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may vary materially from expectations created by such forward-looking statement.
SOURCE: Scanner Technologies Corporation
Scanner Technologies Corporation Elwin Beaty, 763-476-8271
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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