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In emergency pandemic move, Fed cuts rates to zero and will purchase $700B in bonds
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] The Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate target to zero and announced large purchases of goverment bonds Sunday to protect the economy against the coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...pandemic."The effects of the coronavirus will weigh on economic activity in the near term and pose risks to the economic outlook," the central bank's monetary policy committee said in an unscheduled statement. The Fed will also purchase $700 billion in goverment-backed bonds in the "coming months," a move it said was meant to ensure the functioning of financial markets. The statement said that the central bank would leave short-term interest rates at a range of between zero and 0.25% until "it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals." Sunday's changes put the Fed back in the policy stance it adopted in the wake of the financial crisis, when it lowered rates to zero and engaged in large-scale bond purchases to try to prop up spending. Posted by: Fred 2020-03-16 |
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