Becky Quick

Fed should focus on inflation, not jobs

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have the authority to curb unemployment. Here's why they shouldn't.

FORTUNE -- "No one can serve two masters." So says Jesus in the Bible. And so say a growing number of critics concerned that the Federal Reserve is being stretched thin by the two mandates with which it is charged.

Some central banks, like the European Central Bank, have just one mandate: Keep prices stable. But MORE

Obama has a mortgage plan (or three) worth reading

The president has three plans on the table.  Which one is going to fix the mess we're in?

The Obama administration had scarcely released its plan to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before howls of protests arose from members of Congress, consumer advocates, and community bankers, all screaming that this is an about-face from a long-standing policy to promote home ownership in America. But enough already.

With its white paper, which MORE

Uncle Sam: Jacking up your airfare

It's hard to defend all the fees that airlines charge, but it sure is easy to get mad at all the taxes the government tacks on.

By Becky Quick, contributor

Which item do you think has the most federal taxes and fees attached to it: (1) a can of Budweiser, (2) a carton of Marlboro Reds, (3) a Smith & Wesson Centennial revolver, or (4) a roundtrip airline ticket from Chicago to MORE

America's secret commodities crunch

Something's gotta give: As commodity costs climb, who will pay the price?

Among the 482 ,871 patent applications that rolled into the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2009, tube-free toilet paper may not have seemed like a major innovation. But Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper -- a roll of toilet paper without the cardboard tube in the middle -- is on a tear. Environmental groups are heralding its arrival, and MORE

Stop the Beijing bashing!

The health of the U.S. economy depends on trade with China.

By Becky Quick, contributor

I recently got an earful from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. I was in Beijing on a reporting assignment, and I was speaking with Rendell, who was at CNBC's studios in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Congress was about to vote on a bill that would allow the U.S. to seek trade sanctions against the Chinese if they were MORE

Itching for a fight: The new boardroom

Politics! Infighting! Gridlock!  A plan to make shareholders happy could just wind up ticking everyone off.

It was supposed to be a bold strike for democracy in the boardroom. The Securities and Exchange Commission's recent decision to change the rules on who can nominate corporate directors was designed to make it easier for shareholders to have a bigger voice, and to break up the clubby atmosphere that dominates so many boards.

Instead, MORE

Make love not debt

As America's deficit crisis looms, fiscal Hawks and Doves need to make peace.

By Becky Quick, contributor

Take a minute and consider a few numbers that I've come across recently: The federal government is currently spending $3 for every $2 it collects in revenue. That's a big deal when you consider how much money Washington lays out: We're now ratcheting up a deficit that's growing at the breakneck speed of about $100 MORE