Fed Funds Rate Cut .75 Percentage Point to 2.25 Percent

U.S. Federal Reserve ^ | March 18, 2008 | Press Release

[Toddsterpatriot]

Glad I could help dispel just a tiny part of your ignorance.

Let me know if there's anything else you're confused about. Always glad to help. Even the slower students.

[AndyJackson]

Instead it covers only a fraction

I wish I could get a non recourse loan against my "worst performing" assets. I would be home free.

[bjs1779]

Glad I could help dispel just a tiny part of your ignorance.

Yeap, I bet the federal government feels the same way about us. Btw, can I start insulting you pretty soon?

[groanup]

What toddster is trying to tell you is that the Federal Reserve is NOT the Treasury. The Fed is a bank and is funded by member banks who have to hold reserves at the Fed. The Fed can also perform open market operations where it buys or sells Treasuries to money center banks and primary dealers and credits or debits the reserve accounts of those entities or those entities banks thereby increasing or decreasing the amount of reserves in the system. More reserves, more money for the banks to lend and create money out of thin air.

The Treasury OTOH, issues debt in the form of Treasury bills, notes and bonds which is what I refer to above when I say "Treasuries". It is the Treasury that is going more and more in debt all the while Fed people like Greenspan warn them against it.

So the Treasury issues debt and the Fed will buy and sell that debt (and sometimes other debt like FNMA, etc.) to manage the amount of reserves in the banking system

[bjs1779]

More reserves, more money for the banks to lend and create money out of thin air.

Thin air. I like that. Sounds like a great investment.

[groanup]

Thin air. I like that. Sounds like a great investment.

It's one of those things I learned in high school long before I started working for a primary dealer.

[M. Espinola]

"You (Toad) tend to insult when you can't say anything."

All he knows how to do is insult, and absolutely nothing more.

[Toddsterpatriot]

All he knows how to do is insult,

That's not true. I'm also good at correcting the errors you and your pals post.

[M. Espinola]

Did you say something shill?

[Toddsterpatriot]

[M. Espinola]

Is that the best you can come up with, shill?

[Toddsterpatriot]

I think I hit the nail on the head, dummy.

[M. Espinola]

Whatever you say is always false, and everyone is already cognizant.

[Sunnyflorida]

BJ,
I went back and read your posts. I want to say I am very impressed with your interest in macro economics and capital markets. But I still strongly suggest you bolster your interest with knowledge. I still would like to recommend Thomas Sowell. Economics can be a pretty tough subject with a lot of egghead math but the most wonderful Mr. Sowell makes it as simple as possible.

Since you also have an interest in markets, I still suggest Cramer. I do not think he is as good of a stock picker as he pretends but his book reveals some of the mechanics. To me Steinhardt gave the best investment advice ever. I like him much better than Buffet. Buffet is more like Bain - activists. They get very large positions and actually improve the portfolio through management interloping.

I tried to explain to you that trading with BSC, lack there of, was the final straw and you quoted BSC’s closing stock price Friday; Toddster tried to explain the difference between The Fed (i.e. The Federal Reserve Bank) and the federal government’s taxing authority (i.e. The United States House of Representatives). The Fed is just a bank with a few special powers (they can pretty much do unlimited lending, more or less). These are important distinctions and we are trying to help you.

I really hope you take this in the spirit with which it is intended.

I have a technical background and got dumped into Wall Street about 10 years ago. It has been a never ending education.

Good luck.

“”Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” - A Einstein