Category Archives: economics

The Fed and Lowering Long-Term Interest Rates

Posted on September 5, 2011 by

How does the Fed lower long-term interest rates? The Federal Reserve owns about $1.7T in US treasury securities (e.g. bonds issued by the federal government), which is about a trillion more than they owned before the quantitative easings of 2008 and 2010. … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, federal reserve board, interest rates | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Quantitative Easing

Posted on September 5, 2011 by

What is it basically? An “expansionary monetary policy”: that is, a policy that attempts to increase the size of the money supply, typically with the goal of lowering interest rates. Lower interest rates encourage (1) investors to look for higher … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, interest rates, monetary policy | 1 Comment

How much is the US debt and what is it comprised of?

Posted on September 5, 2011 by

Sections Total US debt: personal, corporate, government Breakdown of US national (i.e. federal government) debt only What the national debt doesn’t include US: national debt vs. GDP International: Government debt vs. GDP Total US Debt All told, the total US debt is … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, us debt | 2 Comments