In a series of comments by Federal Bank Governors, they have let it be known that preventing buildups like the dotcom and housing bubbles may become a priority for the Fed. Ft.com report says that the Treasury recommends giving the Fed wide authority to require financial institutions to alter behaviour that it believes poses a threat to financial ­stability.

The market is expecting the Fed to cut its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point next week and then signal that it is finished cutting rates for the time being. However, I think the best action would be to leave the interest rate unchanged. This would help deter some of the rampant speculation that has been driving commodities to record levels.

This article talks about leaders whose very words have the power to cause stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange to decrease in value or make buying a house more expensive -power that really affects the everyday lives of all of us. Here's the list of the top 25 most influential people in forex.

About Bernanke's testimony today, from the Wall Street Journal - Notably, Mr. Bernanke omitted a pledge he has repeatedly made in recent months to act in a "timely manner as needed" to support growth from Wednesday's prepared testimony. That could signal that he doesn't see much more room to lower interest rates.

Sorry it took so long to post this article. Surprised no one else has.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed a key interest rate by three-fourths of a percentage point, moving aggressively to contain a credit crisis threatening to push the country into a severe recession.

Urgently moving to contain a deepening credit crisis, the Federal Reserve is trying to restore confidence in panicked financial markets by becoming a lender of last resort for Wall Street investment houses that on Monday can begin securing short-term emergency loans.

Wall Street pundits are saying the Fed should lower interest rates by a full point at its next meeting. I think such a rash decision would be unwise and the Fed should actually think about keeping interest rates the same or lowering interest rates by a more modest amount, 0.50 at the most.

If you’re a major investment bank, broker, or dealer, you’re in luck. As best we can tell, the Federal Reserve is happy to print more money to lend to troubled banks, accepting as collateral a “broad range” of assets, from the t-shirt you won as the 1996 Putnam County School Board Walk-A-Thon runner up, to the movie poster for Glitter you got from your cousin (signed by Ms.

It seems the government is hard at work "supporting" the free markets, and to a certain degrees abandoning free market principles all together. This isn't new as government bailouts and trading halts have been part of our stock markets' history ever since John Pierpont Morgan, with the help of Teddy Roosevelt, stepped in to save the markets from panic selling in October 1907.

For the last quarter-century, the Federal Reserve has basically used one tool—the Fed funds rate—to run monetary policy. When the economy was running too hot, the Fed raised rates. When the economy was running below potential, the Fed cut rates. It was simple, and at the core, straightforward.

Speculation:

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - An emergency interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve is possible ahead of its next scheduled monetary policy meeting on March 18, according to a Goldman Sachs research note on Monday.

Goldman said its view on Fed policy changed on Friday.

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Annaly Capital is poised to capitalize on Fed cuts and subprime woes. See what stock option I'm buying tomorrow.

Yes, it’s time for our list of predictions for 2008.