From This Collection

Fed Gov. Lael Brainard on the longest shutdown in history

Jan 18, 2019
The economy has been "pretty healthy," she says, but the shutdown is one of the downside risks the Fed is watching.
"Every time that the economy gets to a shutdown or a debt limit, you really do sense that desire from Americans across the country for the government to function well, and to be predictable, and I think that's what we're seeing today. People want to go back to work. They want to get their paychecks. This is affecting communities all over the country," said member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Lael Brainard.
 
Stuart Isett/Fortune

Federal Reserve chairs love to talk about their toolkit. But what’s in it?

We take a look at the tools at the Fed's disposal when it comes to keeping the economy humming along.
 The Federal Reserve building.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

What The Fed can learn from the Soviets' tiny, useless nail problem

Nov 12, 2018
How can the lesson of producing too many tiny, useless nails inform the Federal Reserve's decision to control inflation?
BILL GREENBLATT/AFP/Getty Images

Here's how the Federal Reserve determines the inflation rate

Oct 11, 2018
The Consumer Price Index tracks the average price change over time for a “basket”  of goods and services. The CPI takes into account things like food, transportation and health care. If the CPI goes up, that’s considered an indication that the inflation rate is rising. But when the Federal Reserve calculates the inflation rate, it […]
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The man in charge of TARP: "I'm proud of the actions that we took"

Sep 4, 2018
Neel Kashkari on the 2008 financial crisis and what Congress would do if another crisis hits.
Neel Kashkari, former-interim assistant secretary for financial stability and assistant secretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, waits for the start of the hearing by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee October 23, 2008, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

When it came to the Federal Reserve, Bill Clinton turned silence into a strength

Jul 20, 2018
Breaking with tradition, President Donald Trump has criticized the Fed in an interview.
Then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton pumps his fist during his celebration party on April 7, 1992 in New York.
DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

How the Fed has changed

Jul 12, 2018
A brief look at how five Fed chairs shifted the culture of the central bank.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill Feb. 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C. 
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Fed Chair Jay Powell: We’re “independent of political considerations”

Jul 12, 2018
In a 30 minute conversation, Chairman Powell discusses tariffs, political pressure on the Fed and wage stagnation.
Jerome Powell listens as President Trump announces Powell as nominee for Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 2, 2017.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

What taxi ride data reveals about the NY Fed and big banks

Apr 12, 2018
An analysis of taxi data suggests the possibility of increased communications around Federal Open Market Committee meetings.
Mario Tama/Getty Images