Similar Stories to The Motley Fool: Of Great (and Little) Interest on Bing News

Interest rates are strongly influenced by inflation and the debt market (notes, bills, bonds, etc.). If it appears to be growing too briskly, the Federal Reserve, headed by Janet Yellen, may hike short-term interest rates via the "federal funds" rate (the rate a bank can charge another bank for use of its excess money) in order to slow growth and keep inflation in check. When the economy is sluggish, the Fed often lowers rates to give companies and people an incentive to borrow (and spend) money and thereby spur the economy. The prime rate and other interest rates are based primarily on these two interest rates, while mortgage rates are linked to Treasury bill rates. Today, I'm America's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone service provider to residential customers, serving businesses, too. (You might have heard of my XFINITY brand.) I merged with NBC Universal in 2011, and now operate 30 news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, Universal Pictures, Universal Parks and Resorts and more. If you're looking for dividend income, give European telecommunications company Vodafone (Nasdaq: VOD), which recently yielded more than 5.5 percent, some consideration. Vodafone recently sold its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon for a whopping $130 billion, and it's using that money to expand its presence around the world and to develop wider 4G coverage in Europe and 3G coverage in emerging markets.