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Federal Reserve Board is the most powerful financial institution in the country and is actually the Central bank of United States. This institution is responsible for regulating financial system of the country by formulating monetary policies and by changing the fund rates. The Fed is not completely independent and works together with the administration and the Department of the Treasury. It is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policies in the United States. Even though not independent Federal Reserve has the power to single-handedly introduce appropriate regulations and changes in order to control the financial markets. Federal Bank is commonly referred to as the Fed and it has lately been in the news quite consistently and persistently. The headline-making monetary measures have made the public take notice of the way monetary system works in the United States.
USA Business in its (1995) issue wrote, "The Fed exercises control over money and financial markets using a limited range of indirect tools: open market operations, discount rates, reserve requirements, and margin requirements. Open market operations - consisting of the buying or selling of U.S. government securities, usually on a short-term temporary basis, to either reduce or increase the amount of free cash in the system - are the most frequently used means of fine-tuning financial activity."
The activities of Federal Reserve...
It is very important to understand that changes in the Interest rates is the most powerful regulatory tool used by the Fed to bring changes in the financial markets of the country and therefore Fed slashed interest rates 11 times last year. Federal fund rates are in sole control of the Federal Reserve Board and thus this central banking body can easily alter the fund rates as many times as it deems necessary. Federal fund rate is defined by David L. Scott as, "The rate of interest on overnight loans of excess reserves among commercial banks. Because the Federal Reserve has significant control over the availability of federal funds, the rate is considered an important indicator of Federal Reserve monetary policy and the future direction of other interest rates. A declining federal funds rate may indicate that the Federal Reserve has decided to stimulate the economy by releasing reserves into the banking system." Any change in the federal fund rates should ideally produce a positive result by increasing the demand for money by investors and businessmen. Let us see how Federal Reserve Board used interest rates as a regulatory tool. When more money is to be pumped into the market, it is important to encourage investment and consumer…
References
Financial Institutions., USA Business, 05-31-1995.
David L. Scott, federal funds rate., Wall Street Words, 01-01-1988
Fed's Ferguson: Monetary Policy Still 'Accommodative'" DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, Wall Street Journal online October 29, 2004 3:22 P.M.
Federal Reserve The key information in the January 14, 2004 Federal Reserve summary ranged from mildly encouraging to 'no change' as far as the economy was concerned. Virtually all areas were experiencing small amounts of employment growth, although there were pockets of decline as well. ("Beige Book," January 14, 2004) In fact, retail sales were up a small amount, mainly because upscale retail stores were having a good season, although the lower
Rather than propping up "bad blood" and allowing the "illusion" of wealth to continue to be fostered, the Federal Reserve should allow the market to flush out the "bad blood" and operate the way it is intended. Conclusion In conclusion, the good that the Federal Reserve does is to monitor economic policy, encourage maximum employment and long-term stability. The way it does so, however, especially in times of crisis such as
Federal Reserve Operations in the United States Functions of the Federal System in Control of Money Supply The discount rate, according to the federal system, is the interest rate, which the Federal Reserve imposes on the loans it gives to Federal Banks that are troubled and need financial support. Processing of lending to the banks is done through the 'discount window', which in most cases is controlled by the Reserve Banks. Factors influencing
Federal Reserve Policies 2000- The first decade of the 21st century saw the U.S. economy on a peripatetic through tumultuous events, euphoric highs, and abysmal lows. The ten-year window highlighted three periods: 2000-2004, 2004-2007, and 2007-2010 in which the Federal Reserve actively utilized their policy levers to achieve their dual policy mandate of full employment and low inflation. The Fed's policy bag includes: the Fed funds rate, open market operations, discount
" (Structure of the Federal Reserve System) The 12 Federal Reserve Banks extend banking service to the depository institutions and also to the federal government. To the financial institutions it takes the responsibility of maintaining reserve and clearing out accounts and entails various payment services incorporating checks, electronically transferring funds and circulating and receiving coins and currency notes. As the banker of the Federal Government they function as fiscal agents. They
Federal Reserve Bank Financial services as an industry has progressed to become one of the widely transforming sectors of the global economy, having significant changes in information transference and processing, innovation in terms of commodities and processes, and rapid competition among the financial institutions -- among themselves and also among their several customers. The industry and its part in the transformations in the economy show that the supervising and regulatory structure