JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL - The U.S. Department of Labor reported 530,000 new unemployment claims in the week ended September 19, fewer than expected and better than the prior week's 551,000. Continuing jobless claims were slightly above 6,100,000, in line with projections.

EXISTING HOME SALES DECLINE - The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell to 5,100,000 units in August, down from over 5,200,000 in July. While the drop ends a string of four consecutive monthly increases in the housing market, sales were still up 3.4% from one year ago.

INFLATION IS STILL A FACTOR - The Federal Reserve is going to keep interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future. However, while there may be an inflation headache down the road for the Fed -- and consumers, so far, so good.  According to the most recent figures from the Labor Department, overall consumer prices have decreased during the past 12 months. Core consumer prices, which exclude the costs of food and energy items, are up just 1.4% over the past year. However, gold has rallied above $1,000 an ounce and many experts think that this is partly due to fears that the Fed's money-printing campaign over the past year will cause the dollar to weaken even further than it already has. "The Fed has printed a lot of money and unless Milton Friedman was wrong, when you print money inflation is going to be a problem."

SLOW LEARNERS AND LOW INCOME LOANS - The Treasury is poised to announce a program that will provide as much as $15 billion in liquidity and buy billions worth of mortgage bonds, sources said. The effort will help state housing agencies provide home loans to low-income borrowers. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will administer the program and purchase the bonds.

SIFMA WEIGHS IN ON G20 – The Group of 20 nations plan to cooperate on an overhaul of financial regulations to prevent arbitrage in the global system, require banks to hold more capital, install compensation policies linked to longer-term performance and create a process for winding down cross-border financial institutions. SIFMA CEO Timothy Ryan called the proposals "unprecedented." "While individually each initiative may have merit - and the industry supports many reforms - taken together, these reforms could negatively impact investors, capital flows, and economic growth and job creation during a period of global economic vulnerability."

BIG GOVERNMENT, BIG BUCKS - As researchers for The Free Enterprise Nation began compiling information about the pay and benefits disparity that exists between government/public education and those who work in the private sector, we'd hear an occasional "OH, MY GOSH!" or "OH, MY!" as they found another reference to shocking pay and benefits practices in the public sector. It might have been the first time they saw a State of California pensioner retiring at $500,000 a year...or perhaps the Illinois driver's training teacher earning $170,000 a year and retiring at $130,000 a year...or perhaps the New York City workers who amass more than $100,000 in overtime in their last year before retirement, triggering a pension benefit in excess of their salary. Brace yourself before you check this out at www.thefreeenterprisenation.org.

EXECUTIVE PAY - In case you're concerned about them, The Corporate Library reports that compensation for top executives at many of the largest companies was essentially unchanged last year, despite generally poor stock performance.  More information is available at www.thecorporatelibrary.com. 

DEATH OF THE DOLLAR? - World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the United States should not take the dollar's status as the world's key reserve currency for granted because other options are emerging. "The United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar's place as the world's predominant reserve currency," he said. "Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options."

YOUNG UNEMPLOYMENT AT 52.2% - According to the Labor Dept, the unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2%...a post-World War II high. Many young Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time.  And worse, without a clear economic recovery plan aimed at creating entry-level jobs, the odds of many of these young adults (16 to 24, excluding students) getting a job and moving out of their parents' houses are long. Young workers have been among the hardest hit during the current recession, in which a total of 9,500,000 jobs have been lost.

SOME BILLIONS NOT REAL BILLIONS -  In an era when the budget deficit (nearing $1.58 trillion) and debt ($11.8 trillion on the low side) are at all-time highs, when it looks as if the expanding federal apparatus will soon swallow the entire nation, the administration found $2.7 billion in spending cuts. That is great but is it a real cut? No, it's just a small restraint on raises. Instead of funding $22.6 billion for 2.4% cost-of-living allowances for 2010, the taxpayers will be responsible for providing $19.9 billion to pay for a 2% COLA. Yet civilian federal workers, who are almost impossible to fire for poor performance, are still getting raises on top of deals that are far better than those of their counterparts in the private sector.

TREASURY TO KEEP TARP $ - The Treasury might opt to extend the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which is set to expire Dec. 31, but even if the program is not extended, Treasury officials are trying to find a way to keep some of the remaining $200 billion in reserve. The efforts could be setting up a battle over the funds because lawmakers are increasingly concerned about the nation's growing debt.

BANKER PAY NOT LINKED TO CRISIS - G20 leaders are pondering restrictions on bankers' pay but there is, in fact, little evidence to cite compensation as one of the causes of the financial crisis, writes Jeffrey Friedman of the University of Texas at Austin. Bank CEOs actually owned about 10 times as much of their bank's stock as they were typically paid per year, according to a study by professors at Ohio State University. Additionally, a study by compensation consultant Watson Wyatt Worldwide shows that banks that richly rewarded performance were not more likely to go bankrupt than others. Whatever, it just doesn't smell right.

TARP SUCCESS MIXED - Neil Barofsky, special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, told the Senate banking committee that the effort played a "significant role" in stabilizing the financial system. "There are without question significant signs of improvement in the stability of the system," Barofsky said. He also cited efforts by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and other agencies as contributing to the market turnaround. However, he called the overall success of TARP "mixed."

FED STILL A SECRET AND SACRED COW - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner proposed a "comprehensive review" of the Federal Reserve's "ability to accomplish its existing and proposed functions." After initially agreeing to the review, some Fed officials deemed the review as a possible threat to the central bank's independence, the sources said. "It is not obvious at all why that is a Treasury responsibility or even appropriate why the Treasury would undertake that kind of study. The Fed was created by Congress, and it is not part of the executive branch." Flash: Congress has no clue what the Fed is doing either. However, the Fed has been under increasing scrutiny for its role in the financial crisis, and a bill from Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, which would have the Government Accountability Office audit the Fed has gained broad support.

BOA MESS - In case you haven't heard, Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch is now under investigation by the Justice Department and FBI.  Since a judge threw out the proposed settlement over BOA's failure to disclose its authorization to Merrill Lynch to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses, the SEC now says it will take BOA to court, which may open the possibility that bank executives could also face charges.  In throwing out the settlement, the judge quite rightly said that the proposed settlement unfairly penalized shareholders (who were the ones the Merrill bonuses weren't disclosed to prior to voting on the merger).  Wait though...there's more to this mess.  The Ohio attorney general has filed a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America and its executives, alleging that the bank improperly concealed billions of dollars in losses and billions in Merrill bonuses paid before the shareholder vote on the proposed merger.

EXPECT CAP AND TRADE TO RETURN TO HEADLINES - Energy and environmental policy returns to the spotlight as Sens. Barbara Boxer and John Kerry introduce legislation to curb climate change. Also, watch for a name change to something like the "Pollution Reduction Bill." Apparently, "focus groups" don't understand what is meant by "Cap and Trade." The real problem may be that the public is beginning to understand what such a bill will do to them personally and the economy in generally.  President Obama has said "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket," but estimates range from only $175 per household to over $2,000. The major problem may be the damage to the economy and trade policy. As one opponent points out, "The problem we've got in this country is that if you pay $40 an hour and try to compete against $5 labor, and you've got these EPA rules and these regulations and the other countries don't, that we keep bleeding our prosperity. I think we've now reached a point that we've disproven this service economy."

• Balance Transfer Fees: Up to 3% and 5% hidden in the fine print.
• Cash Advances: Ranges between 3% and 5%.
• Foreign Currency Surcharges: Expect a 3% fee for any purchases made in foreign currencies.
• Balance Requirements: Keep a minimum balance or expect a charge of $8 or more.
• ATM Fees: Banks charge $3 to withdraw money from their ATMs. But at least you have to agree to pay the fee at the terminal. Some customers don't realize their own bank often levies a $2 fee every time they use a competitor's ATM.