After many months of punditry and prognostication regarding the potential for the Federal Reserve to cut the federal funds rate in 2024, the agency finally did so at its September 17-18 meeting. The Fed lowered the target for the rate by 0.50%, or 50 basis points, to a range of 4.75% to 5.0%. This amount Read more
Monetary Policy
New Route: The Fed Rides to the Rescue with Unconventional Monetary Policy
In the eight months since the global COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States and its economy, the Federal Reserve has reached far beyond its playbook from the 2007-09 Great Recession, using unconventional monetary policy while growing its balance sheet from roughly $4 trillion to $7 trillion through emergency lending programs and moves to bolster the Read more
In the Fed’s Tool Kit: What is Yield Curve Control?
As the Federal Reserve considers the monetary policy methods it will use to bolster an economic recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Fed chair Jerome Powell told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on June 16, 2020, that “we are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy in this challenging time.” Read more
Shocks to the System: Monetary and Fiscal Policy
That the global COVID-19 outbreak has affected all aspects of daily life for everyone will be news to nobody. Some effects, such as social distancing, and facemasks, are evident just by looking. But other effects, such as those on monetary and fiscal policy, require more of an in-depth analysis—though these results will also affect us Read more