A lot has changed since June of 2006, the last time the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. We broke it down into changes in technology, pop culture and sports, and business. Here’s what we found:
TECHNOLOGY
While Twitter technically existed, it had yet to be released to the public as Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and Noah Glass worked to get it ready for its debut. It was also called “TWTR,” now its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange
The iPhone (AAPL) had been rumored for quite some time, but when Ben Bernanke last raised rates it was still more than a year away from hitting stores. With no iPhone around, it was the Motorola Razr that was the most popular cell phone, and BlackBerries (BBRY) were considered by many to be the "cutting edge."
Facebook (FB) had less than 12 million users, and you still needed a school or work email address to join.
Instagram, Snapchat, Uber, Airbnb didn't exist.
POP CULTURE / SPORTS
Remember Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie?" It was atop the the Billboard charts in June of 2006. Last week Justin Bieber had the number two, three, and five spots on the charts, but back in 2006 he was still an undiscovered Canadian kid strumming the guitar on YouTube.
Stephen Curry went unrecruited by major college programs and decided to attend Davidson. He's now the reigning NBA MVP and averages 32 points a game.
Kim Kardashian had just 856 friends ... on her MySpace page. Today she has 37.8 million followers on Twitter.
Tiger Woods was in the middle of his 281-week streak as the world's #1 golfer. Last week he was number 411.
BUSINESS
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was trading in the mid 1200s. As of this writing, it's at 2014.
Average cost of a gallon of gas was $2.90. While the price has fluctuated quite a bit since 2006, right now it’s actually quite a bit lower. According to AAA’s “Daily Fuel Gauge," the national average is just over $2 today.
A gallon of milk cost $3.00 in 2006 and now will run you about $3.34.
The unemployment rate in June of 2006 was 4.6%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics it was 5% for November, 2015.
These banks still existed: Washington Mutual, IndyMac, Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and many more.