Photo of Jerome Powell

Fed to Buy Unlimited Government Debt and Lend to Businesses

WASHINGTON — In its boldest effort to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve says it will buy as much government debt as it deems necessary and will also begin lending to small and large businesses and local governments to help them...
Photo of Jerome Powell on a television at the New York Stock Exchange

Federal Reserve Proposes Loosening Rules on Bank Investments

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve approved a proposal Thursday to loosen a financial-crisis era rule that prevents banks from investing in venture capital funds. The proposal would affect the so-called “Volcker Rule," which was created after the 2008 financi...
Photo of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

Fed’s Powell Sees Steady Growth, Signals Pause in Rate Cuts

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated Wednesday that the Fed is likely to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged in the coming months, unless the economy shows signs of worsening. “Looking ahead, my colleagues and I se...
Photo of money and "national debt" on a ripped piece of paper

Opinion: On Oct. 3, Happy Deficit Day

Imagine that the federal government received all the revenue it will receive for the year in a lump sum on Jan. 1, and then proceeded to spend that money at a constant rate. If the federal government’s budget were balanced, the money would last until the strok...