Target Federal Funds Rate Announced By The Federal Reserve

Target Federal Funds Rate Announced By The Federal Reserve

Target Federal Funds Rate Announced By The Federal Reserve

There is a clear cut winner to that cordial business question, “Paper or plastic?” and it is plastic by a mile, according to recent news from the Federal Reserve System. The growing popularity among Americans for debit/credit card purchases, electronic bill payments, and direct deposit paydays has seen the Fed reduce its number of check processing centers from 45 in 2003 to a proposed four in the next few years.

To the general public the Fed is an afterthought that appears in the news periodically throughout the year to tweak interest rates. Homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages tune in to learn if their monthly budgets will require tweaking as well.

The Federal Reserve System was created by the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 to provide stability to the United States economy. During the presidency of Woodrow Wilson the Federal Reserve provided financial support for the Allied forces in World War I. A decade later the Fed received much criticism and blame for the depths of the Great Depression. These peaks and valleys have kept the Fed in a state of evolution over the last century.