The Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (WSJ Prime Rate) is defined by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as "The base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks." It is not the 'best' rate offered by banks. It should not be confused with the federal funds rate set by the Federal Reserve, though these two rates often move in tandem. The current rate is 3.25% (as of 2008-12-16).
The print edition of the WSJ is generally the official source of the prime rate. The Wall Street Journal prime rate is considered a trailing economic indicator. Many (if not most) lenders specify this as their source of this index and set their prime rates according to the rates published in the Wall Street Journal. Because most consumer interest rates are based upon the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate, when this rate changes, most consumers can expect to see the interest rates of credit cards, auto loans and other consumer debt change.
The prime rate does not change at regular intervals. It changes only when the nation's "largest banks" decide on the need to raise, or lower, their "base rate." The prime rate may not change for years, but it has also changed several times in a single year.
Read more about Wall Street Journal Prime Rate: Historical Data For The WSJ Prime Rate
Famous quotes containing the words wall street, wall, street, journal, prime and/or rate:
“This is Wall Street, and today is important. Because tomorrow, July 4th, I intended to make my first million dollars—an exciting day in a man’s life. The enterprise was slightly illegal.”
—Abraham Polonsky (b. 1910)
“...there is a difference between being convinced and being stubborn. I’m not certain what the difference is, but I do know that if you butt your head against a stone wall long enough, at some point you realize the wall is stone and that your head is flesh and blood.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“For now the moon with friendless light carouses
On hill and housetop, street and marketplace,
Men will plunge, mile after mile of men,
To crush this lucent madness of the face....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“Unfortunately, many things have been omitted which should have been recorded in our journal; for though we made it a rule to set down all our experiences therein, yet such a resolution is very hard to keep, for the important experience rarely allows us to remember such obligations, and so indifferent things get recorded, while that is frequently neglected. It is not easy to write in a journal what interests us at any time, because to write it is not what interests us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... unless the actor is able to discourse most eloquently without opening his lips, he lacks the prime essential of a finished artist.”
—Julia Marlowe (1870–1950)
“We honor motherhood with glowing sentimentality, but we don’t rate it high on the scale of creative occupations.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)