What if the economy needs more than the Fed can give it?

Mar 3, 2020
The U.S. government may need to spend its way out of a coronavirus-induced slowdown.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced an interest rate cut of half a percentage point Tuesday.
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In emergency move, Fed cuts interest rates by 0.5%

Mar 3, 2020
"A half a point is not going to cure anybody," said Karen Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics.
An interest rate cut that occurs between formal policy meetings is highly unusual.
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The Fed may have been wrong about the economy for years

Dec 11, 2019
2019 saw a major shift in monetary policy. Does that mean the Fed has been wrong about the economy for years?
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks following the final FOMC meeting of 2019.
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Paul Volcker's battle against inflation pushed interest rates up to 20%

Dec 9, 2019
Getting a loan in the early 1980s was a lot more expensive than today. That was the point.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker testifies before the Joint Economic Committee May 14, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
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Fed meets ahead of interest rate decision

Oct 30, 2019
Economists think another interest rate cut is on the way.
A view of the U.S. Federal Reserve building. 
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Fewer companies say Fed rate cuts will improve their business

Oct 28, 2019
A survey from the National Association for Business Economics found members are bracing for the economy to slow.
More companies are feeling interest rate changes won't affect them.
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When interest rates drop, savers feel the pinch first

Sep 19, 2019
Savers can be the first to lose when the Fed lowers the interest rate.
The potential to earn in a savings account has gone down with interest rate cuts. Above, a Chase Bank in New York.
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For public good, not for profit.

What exactly is the repo market?

Sep 18, 2019
It's how banks borrow money overnight. And it got a little crazy this week.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
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What are negative interest rates?

Aug 22, 2019
While the U.S. waits on word of rate cuts, the global economy is seeing negative interest rates.
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The first rate cut in over 10 years: what a difference a decade makes

Jul 31, 2019
A global economic meltdown caused the last rate cuts. Today, the economy is far from that point.
Newspapers at a newsstand on Sept. 16, 2008, in New York City, at the height of the Great Recession.
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