Fed policy
Reserve Board decisions
Fed policy refers to decisions by the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, that influence money supply, interest rates, and credit conditions.
The term usually means monetary policy—raising or lowering rates to control inflation and unemployment: Fed policy kept rates near zero for years after the financial crisis.
Markets watch Fed policy closely because it affects borrowing costs, stock prices, and economic growth.
- interest ratesPrice paid for borrowing
- basis pointsHundredths of a percent
- inflationSustained price level increase
- price stabilityConsistent general price levels
- hawkishFavoring aggressive action
dovish · tightening · easing · stimulus · tapering · money printer · Wall Street · central bank · rate cut · monetary · benchmark · recession · unemployment · markets · FOMC · dot plot · banking · liquidity
- forexforex, exchange rate, currency trading, currency exchange, foreign exchange
- economicssupply and demand, inflation, GDP, GNP, gross domestic product
- Gold tradingspot price, futures, bullion, troy ounce, bid price
Fed policyfiscal policy
State spending and taxation
tax policy · government spending · budgetary policy · appropriations · tariff policy
Fed policytight money
Restricted credit supply
quantitative easing · easy money · hard money · rate hikes · rate cuts
Fed policylaissez-faire
Noninterference in commerce
gold standard · free market · market forces · non-intervention · Austrian economics
fed, federal, federally, federation, federate, federated, federalism, federalist, confederate