Articles by The Economist’s U.S. Economics Editor
By GREG IP
The original article is linked here.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is likely to cut its short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point next week — but then may be ready for a breather.
The Fed, meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, is likely to make what would be its seventh cut in eight months. The reason: Some officials see a case for more insurance against a deeper recession.
The original article is linked here.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is considering contingency plans for expanding its lending power in the event its recent steps to unfreeze credit markets fail.
Among the options: Having the Treasury borrow more money than it needs to fund the government and leave the proceeds on deposit at the Fed; issuing debt under the Fed’s name rather than the Treasury’s; and asking Congress for immediate authority for the Fed to pay interest on commercial-bank reserves instead of waiting until a previously enacted law permits it in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »
