Premium Essay

Explain The Responsibilities And Functions Of The Federal Reserve

Submitted By
Words 230
Pages 1
The responsibilities and functions of the federal reserve have always personally confused me and come off as foggy. From what I got from this video, one of the most important things the fed does is regulate and stabilize the amount of money circulating in the economy. They are able to do this through the regulation of the banks, as well as offering financial help to those banks and credit unions. One way to do this is by either increasing or decreasing the discount rate that banks must pay in order to receive a loan. If the Fed raises the discount rate, banks are less likely to try and take out a loan, or they would take out a smaller one than they had originally planned. The Fed can also raise or lower the reserve ratio. This is a percentage

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Federal Reserve

...Title: The Federal Reserve Name: Jane Doe Course: Eco 320/Understanding Prof. John Smith Date: 11/28/2012 It would not be an overstatement to say that the U.S Economy is very strong at least compare to other countries. One is sure that listening to the news and the politicians in Washington, DC they render a different opinion. But these tactics are just to scare people and make believe on ideals that have nothing to do with the actual state of the Economy. The fact is we now live in a global economy and what happen in Europe can have a major affect in the U.S economy. The European Union is not very stable at this moment and probably never will be stable, because the adaption of the Euro has failed on its main objective. The U.S Dollar is still the preferred and trusted paper for the world to conduct trade. The role of the Federal Reserve is to keep that trust and confidence in the U.S Dollar at home and abroad. To gain more prospective on the role of the Federal Reserve it is imperative to answer and explain the following questions: Evaluate the role and effectiveness of the Federal Reserve in stabilizing the current economy. The American economy is a complex balance of services, financial, manufacturing, agricultural, and banking industries. For this reason, the U.S. is a global economy, relying upon foreign investments and trade to create and retain wealth. Over the years, America has evolved from farming-based, to industrial, to a services-based economy...

Words: 3425 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

The Federal Reserve

...The Federal Reserve Ryan Butler 23 August 2011 Evaluate the role and effectiveness of the Federal Reserve in stabilizing the current economy. The American economy is a complex balance of services, financial, manufacturing, agricultural, and banking industries. For this reason, the U.S. is a global economy, relying upon foreign investments and trade to create and retain wealth. Over the years, America has evolved from farming-based, to industrial, to a services-based economy. As a result, the banking system from its inception has weathered the many growing pains associated with a new government and currency, instituting regulations and a centralized bank to examine the economy, and implement policies intended to offset factors negatively affecting the general financial health of the country. Now, as the United States moves towards a globally interdependent marketplace, the stakes are much higher than they were when Congress established the Federal Reserve in the early 1900’s. A country’s debt can now become the world’s debt, and the role of the U.S. federal banking system is now considerably more under pressure and scrutiny than ever before. As we have been seeing with the current liquidity crisis in the U.S., and how it has affected U.K. and Asian markets, strong, comprehensive policy-making is now crucial to sustaining long-term economic viability. Even despite the growing need for quick, precise actions by the Federal Reserve System, the decision-making regarding the...

Words: 3156 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Complexities of the Us Financial System

...Assignment 1: Complexities of the US Financial System Describe how the US financial markets impact the economy, businesses, and individuals. US financial markets play an important role in contributing to the health and efficiency of the economy, businesses, and individuals. (Spiegel, 2002) Because there is a strong relationship between the health of the economy and financial market development and economic growth, even a slight dip in the financial markets can radically effect how the economy, businesses, and individuals respond. (Ask Dr Econ, 2005) Financial markets “facilitate the raising of capital in the capital markets, the transfer of risk in the derivatives market, price discovery, global transactions with integration of financial markets, the transfer of liquidity in the money markets, and international trade in the current markets.” (Financial Markets, 2013) When the financial markets are doing well, “firm-level, industry-level, and cross-country studies all suggest that the level of financial development exerts a large, positive impact on economic growth.” (MIT, 2001) When financial markets are not doing well, interest rates on loans will increase and access to credit decreases. Interest rates are higher because of the risk that banks feel are involved. In times of high risk, interest rates go up. It is a way for banks to limit their losses and make as much money back – just in case a default occurs. So those businesses that are able to get credit are finding...

Words: 1226 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Financing a Business

...Liber8 TM Brought to You by the Research Library of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Economic Information Newsletter Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Times of Crisis March 2011 Classroom Edition An informative and accessible economic essay with a classroom application. Includes the full version of the Liber8 Newsletter, plus questions for students and an answer key for classroom use. Prepared by the Economic Education Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis © 2011, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. www.stlouisfed.org/education Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety for educational purposes, so long as this copyright notice is included on all copies. Liber8 ® Brought to You by the Research Library of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Economic Information Newsletter Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Times of Crisis March 2011 “We [policymakers] have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable economic and financial environment in which opportunity can again flourish.” —Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, August 25, 2009 The recent financial crisis and recession prompted unconventional and aggressive actions by monetary and fiscal policymakers. Monetary policymakers turned to quantitative easing. Fiscal policymakers increased government spending and reduced taxes. To better understand these widely debated actions, it...

Words: 1991 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Bus520 Chapter 15 & 16

...Chapter 15: Understanding Accounting and Financial Statements Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to identify some of the concepts of Understanding Accounting and Financial Statements in the business world. Learning objectives 1. Explain the functions of accounting, and identify the three basic activities involving accounting. 2. Describe he roles played by public, management, government, and not-for-profit accountants. 3. Identify the foundations of the accounting system, including GAAP and the role of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). 4. Outline the steps in the accounting cycle, and define double-entry bookkeeping and the accounting equation. 5. Explain the functions and major components of the four principal financial statements: the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of owner’s equity, and the statement of cash flows. 6. Discuss how financial ratios are used to analyze a company’s financial strengths and weaknesses. 7. Describe the role of budges in a business. 8. Outline accounting issues facing global business and the move towards one set of worldwide accounting rules. 1. Explain the functions of accounting, and identify the three basic activities involving accounting. Accounting measure, interpret, and communicate financial information to parties inside and outside the firm to support improved decision making. Accountants gather, record, and interpret financial information to management....

Words: 1062 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Federal Reserve

...-The Federal Reserve’s control of money supply, Federal Reserve’s influence on interest rates, and the treasury department Andrew Jackson once stated “The bold effort the present (central) bank had made to control the government ... are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it.” (http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_by/andrew+jackson). Since the Federal Reserve was established in 1914, the amount of power it has acquired over time has become very substantial. The Federal Reserve has a large control over the supply of money within the country, the Federal Reserve can control the flow of money in and out of the government, this is all because the fed controls the monetary base. There are two types of economist Monetarist Economists and Keynesian economists, In the following paragraph I will explain what the difference between these two types of economist are and how they believe the Fed controls the money supply. Not only does the Fed have a large influence on the money supply within the economy. The Federal Reserve also has a tremendous amount of power over the interest rates that are being used in today’s economy. Many of the ways that money supply can be altered can also heavily affect the feds fund rate in a predictable manner, the Federal Reserve uses that to their advantage even though they cannot set a rate for the Fed funds rate, they can hold it around...

Words: 2760 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

The Fed

...make an individual in favor or against a certain issue using techniques to speak to the consumer at a subconscious level. Monetary policy by far is a significant factor in the survival and well being of any nation. It can destroy or exalt any nation through policies that effect how the economy and money interact. Ranging from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank to the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve, these banks were deployed to attend the dire need of keeping monetary value stable; at what ever cost. Though for the best interest, centralized banks have helped and hurt their respective economies in many different ways. “During the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, financial panics plagued the nation, leading to bank failures and business bankruptcies that severely disrupted the economy. The failure of the nation's banking system to effectively provide funding to troubled depository institutions contributed significantly to the economy's vulnerability to financial panics” (Fox 1). I will be proving, as a liberal, how failed monetary policies of the Federal Reserve were the ongoing cause of the Great Depression. The onset of the Great Depression can be traced back to August 1929. In the fall of 1930, 15 months had passed since the beginning of the contraction; the economy finally began to appear poised for recovery. The last three contractions has lasted an average of 15 months. However,...

Words: 2303 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Federal Reserves

...The Federal Reserve Bank As the United States moves towards a globally interdependent marketplace, the global monetary stakes have become much higher. The United States Congress established the Federal Reserve in the early 1900’s. A country’s debt can now become the world’s debt, and the role of the U.S. federal banking system is now considerably more under pressure and scrutiny than ever before. As we have been seeing with the current liquidity crisis in the U.S., and how it has affected U.K. and Asian markets, strong, comprehensive policy-making is now crucial to sustaining long-term economic viability. The American economy is a complex balance of services, financial, manufacturing, agricultural, and banking industries. For this reason, the U.S. is a global economy, relying upon foreign investments and trade to create and retain wealth. Over the years, America has evolved from farming-based, to industrial, to a services-based economy. As a result, the banking system from its inception has weathered the many growing pains associated with a new government and currency, instituting regulations and a centralized bank to examine the economy, and implementing policies intended to offset factors negatively affecting the general financial health of the country. Despite the growing need for quick, precise actions by the Federal Reserve System, the decision-making regarding the economy is often met with controversy. The recent bail out plan, passed by Congress...

Words: 2694 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Federal Reserve System

...The Federal Reserve offers to the general public numerous publications available at the website of the Federal Reserve Board,http://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/. The Federal Reserve Board testimonies, press releases, monetary policy reports, the Beige Book, and a variety of other publications offer a detailed assessment of current economic activity, financial markets, and the monetary policy tools used to promote economic activity and preserve price stability. 1.      Describe the Federal Reserve’s assessment of the current economic activity and financial markets. 2.      Explain the Federal Reserve’s current view about inflation. 3.      Describe the monetary policy tools the Federal Reserve uses to stabilize the economy and maintain price stability. 4.      Based on the information you researched from Federal Reserve publications, present and justify your own economic outlook for the next 12 to 18 months. Introduction American economy is composed of financial balance of services, Agricultural, manufacturing and banking industry. In the result U.S one of the biggest global economy which comprises of foreign investments and movement of wealth in trade. From past many years the U.S economy is emerged more as service based and industrial base economy than farming based. This result the banking system to be more complex to deal with the government and currency , instituting the regulations and a centralized bank to regulate and from a policies which could limitize...

Words: 3855 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

The Mortgage and Financial Crises: the Role of Credit Risk Management and Corporate Governance

...Lang Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Ten Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: 215-574-7225 E-mail: William.Lang@phil.frb.org Julapa Jagtiani Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Ten Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: 215-574-7284 E-mail: Julapa.Jagtiani@phil.frb.org February 9, 2010 Abstract This paper discusses the role of risk management and corporate governance as causal factors in the onset of the financial crisis. The downturn in the housing and mortgage markets precipitated the first phase of the financial crisis in August 2007 when the solvency of a number of large financial firms was threatened by huge losses in complex structured financial securities. Why did these firms have such high concentrations in mortgage-related securities? Given the information available to firms at the time, these high concentrations in mortgage-related securities violated basic principles of modern risk management. We argue that this failure was a result of principal-agent problems internal to the firms and to breakdowns of corporate governance systems designed to overcome these principal-agent problems. Forthcoming in Atlantic Economic Journal (2010) JEL Classification Numbers: G01, G18, G21, G28 Keywords: Financial Crisis, Risk Management, Corporate Governance, Subprime Crisis _________________________ The opinions expressed in this paper are the authors’ and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia or the Federal Reserve...

Words: 9804 - Pages: 40

Premium Essay

Bank of Green

...do and more importantly not do. At the Bank of Green we strive to be the best at what we do and many have voiced their uncertainty about the economy and where it is headed. This report will show you what is happening in the economy and what will most likely happen this coming year. The Federal Reserve still has not met to discuss this but there is a likely course of action that they will take, I will account for this uncertainty. After reading this you should be able to fully understand the future of the economy and more importantly explain what is happening to your customers so they know that they have someone who knows what they are doing behind them. I will be going over the forecast for 2006 with projected quarterly growth rates and what they mean, as well as the rate of inflation for 2006. Along with that we must consider the action the Federal Reserve will take along with how they achieve their goal. The Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System, often called the Federal Reserve or simply put as The Fed, is the central banking system of the United States. Founded in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act in response to major financial panics, The Fed has assumed more responsibilities and evolved into a regulatory super bank. Its major duties include but are not limited to; creating monetary policies, supervising and regulating banking institutions and maintaining the stability of the financial system. Today we treat The Fed as a financial guru for when the economic stability...

Words: 2898 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Hello

...Credit Allocation Intergenerational Wealth Transfers or Time Intermediation Payment Services Denomination Intermediation Specialness and Regulation Safety and Soundness Regulation Monetary Policy Regulation Credit Allocation Regulation Consumer Protection Regulation Investor Protection Regulation Entry Regulation The Changing Dynamics of Specialness • Trends in the United States • Future Trends • Global Issues Summary Solutions for End-of-Chapter Questions and Problems: Chapter One 1. Identify and briefly explain the five risks common to financial institutions. Default or credit risk of assets, interest rate risk caused by maturity mismatches between assets and liabilities, liability withdrawal or liquidity risk, underwriting risk, and operating cost risks. 2. Explain how economic transactions between household savers of funds and corporate users of funds would occur in a world without financial intermediaries (FIs). In a world without FIs the users of corporate funds in the economy would have to approach directly the household savers of funds in order to satisfy their borrowing needs. This process would be extremely costly because of the up-front information costs faced by potential lenders. Cost inefficiencies would arise with the identification of potential borrowers, the pooling of small savings into loans of sufficient size to finance corporate activities, and...

Words: 3886 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Dylon Gandee

...Enforcement Technology Autumn Semester, 2013 August 21 through December 11, 2013 Class Syllabus Course Title: Introduction to Criminal Justice Course Number: LET-100 Instructor: Bob Cromwell, MS BBA C: (740)258-0800 Office hours by appointment only. email: rcromwel@cotc.edu Required Materials: Textbook(s): Frank Schmalleger. (2014) Criminal justice: a brief introduction (10th edition). NJ: Pearson Education. ISBN: 978-0-13-300979-8 Packets: Not required Supplies: Any materials students may need to record information in face to face classroom setting AND access to internet for research projects. Additional Materials: None. Closed Reserve: None. ITS Resources: http://www.cotc.edu/faculty-and-staff/it-support/Pages/index.aspx Student Services: http://www.cotc.edu/student-life/Pages/default.aspx Library: http://www.cotc.edu/libraries/Pages/default.aspx College-Wide Policies: 1. Assessment -- As part of COTC’s campus-wide assessment initiatives (quality assurance program), samples of student performance such as test results, projects, papers, etc. may be used. The data gathered will not identify individual students and are not related to the student’s grade for the course, but will be used to improve student learning at COTC. 2. Disability -- Any student who has need for accommodations due to a disability must first register...

Words: 2464 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Acct-346 Quizzes and Exams

...ACCT-346 Quizzes and Exams http://uphomework.com/downloads/acct-346-quizzes-exams/ ACCT/346 All Quizzes and Exams Solved – A Grade Guaranteed ACCT346 Test Bank All Quizzes + Midterm Exam + Final Exam Chapter 1- 20 CHAPTER 1 TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS 1. The purpose of the financial system is to bring savers and borrowers together. 2. Businesses are never DSUs. 3. A financial claim is an “IOU” from a deficit spending unit. 4. Investment bankers help DSUs bring new primary security issues to market. 5. Deposits in a credit union by a household are an example of direct finance. 6. When an SSU owns a financial claim created by financial intermediation, its residual claim is against a DSU. 7. Assets of financial intermediaries include direct financial claims only. 8. Finance companies take small consumer deposits and make large consumer loans. 9. Liabilities of financial intermediaries are indirect financial claims. 10. Direct finance requires a more or less exact match of preferences. 11. There must be an equal number of DSUs and SSUs in a period. 12. Every financial claim appears on two balance sheets. 13. Without a financial sector, real investment must be financed internally by the DSU. 14. Depository intermediaries issue claims that are for the most part highly liquid. 15. A household is an SSU when income for the period exceeds spending. 16. An SSU must hold a claim until its scheduled maturity. 17. Financial claims or securities are written for the mutual...

Words: 25527 - Pages: 103

Premium Essay

Cja/204

...| [pic] |College of Criminal Justice and Security | | |CJA/204 Version 2 | | |Introduction to Criminal Justice | Copyright © 2009 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course is an introductory overview of the organization and jurisdictions of local, state, and federal law enforcement, judicial and corrections agencies, and processes involved in the criminal justice systems. It examines the historical aspects of the police, the courts, and the correctional system, as well as the philosophy. Additionally, career opportunities and qualifying requirements, terminology and constitutional limitations of the system will also be covered. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending...

Words: 3730 - Pages: 15