The St. Louis Federal Reserve published a paper blaming the low level of inflation in large part on consumers and their "willingness to hoard money." There is lots of cash sitting around. Banks have put away close to $2.8 trillion in reserves, and households are sitting on $2.2 trillion in savings—about a 50% increase over the past five years. (CNBC)

Harvard, with the world's largest university endowment, is still seeking to recover from a 27% investment loss incurred during the financial crisis.  So Harvard alumni are upset about paying endowment management $132.8 million in salaries, bonuses and benefits last year, up from $63.5 million in 2010. The endowment management company, oversees the university's $32.7 billion endowment, employs 324 people, up 19% from 2009. (Bloomberg)

Back to school and parents are worried.  Nearly two-thirds of parents with children ages 15 to 17 worry that college costs will jeopardize their ability to save for retirement. About half of parents say they don’t have a plan to pay off their children’s student loan debt. Moral to the story – don’t jeopardize your retirement to put your kids through college and it is your kids debt not yours. (Chicago Tribune)

U.S. banks' are lending money as loan balances hit $8.11 trillion in the second quarter, marking a 2.3% jump from the first quarter, the biggest quarter-over-quarter increase since late 2007, and the first time U.S. bank lending has surpassed $8 trillion. (BAI Research)