Word: interests
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...Thanks to sponsors like Delta, the academy is able to send its 120 students - who range from fifth to eighth grade and attend largely on scholarship - on trips to six continents by the time they graduate, as part of a curriculum that emphasizes world affairs. He says given their interest in current events, getting the 30 seventh-graders to express their interest in politics through song was easy. "When you use music, kids get excited," he says...
...Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 1% on Wednesday, continuing an aggressive effort to fend off a deep recession. The rate now stands at the lowest level since 2004 - and central bankers signaled that they may resort to more cuts in the months ahead...
...normal cyclical slowdown, lowering interest rates encourages fresh business activity by reducing the cost of borrowing from banks. With more borrowing comes more investment, more jobs and more growth. But these are far from ordinary times. Banks, already burdened with bad consumer and commercial debts, are desperate to clean up their balance sheets and avoid risk - they are not eager to take on more risk by issuing new loans against the backdrop of a deteriorating business climate. American consumers, too, are trying to reduce household debt, so borrowing more money for a new car or to remodel the kitchen...
...Japan discovered the futility of ultra-low interest rates in the 1990s, when the Bank of Japan (BOJ) tried to prod the country out of a protracted recession by lowering the rate all the way to zero in 1999 - where it stayed, with one brief interlude, until 2006. Despite the fact that lenders could essentially get free money from the government, Japanese banks were busy recapitalizing and paring down mountains of bad assets, and had little interest in doling out more loans in a moribund economy. The zero-rate policy did little to stimulate growth...
...Still, central bankers around the world, in an effort to ward off the worst effects of a global economic slowdown, appear to be engaging in a rate race to the bottom. China on Oct. 29 cut its interest rates for the third time in six weeks, and the BOJ is expected to cut its key policy rate below the current 0.5% soon. Though rates in Japan are already almost nil, Tokyo's hand is to an extent being forced by Washington. That's because as U.S. rates fall, fewer investors are willing to hold U.S. dollar debt, which undermines...