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Paul Volcker's battle against inflation pushed interest rates up to 20%

Dec 9, 2019
Getting a loan in the early 1980s was a lot more expensive than today. That was the point.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker testifies before the Joint Economic Committee May 14, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
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Fed meets ahead of interest rate decision

Oct 30, 2019
Economists think another interest rate cut is on the way.
A view of the U.S. Federal Reserve building. 
KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

Fewer companies say Fed rate cuts will improve their business

Oct 28, 2019
A survey from the National Association for Business Economics found members are bracing for the economy to slow.
More companies are feeling interest rate changes won't affect them.
Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images

When interest rates drop, savers feel the pinch first

Sep 19, 2019
Savers can be the first to lose when the Fed lowers the interest rate.
The potential to earn in a savings account has gone down with interest rate cuts. Above, a Chase Bank in New York.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What exactly is the repo market?

Sep 18, 2019
It's how banks borrow money overnight. And it got a little crazy this week.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Photo by Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images

What are negative interest rates?

Aug 22, 2019
While the U.S. waits on word of rate cuts, the global economy is seeing negative interest rates.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The first rate cut in over 10 years: what a difference a decade makes

Jul 31, 2019
A global economic meltdown caused the last rate cuts. Today, the economy is far from that point.
Newspapers at a newsstand on Sept. 16, 2008, in New York City, at the height of the Great Recession.
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Why U.S. interest rates won’t go negative ... yet

Jul 31, 2019
The Federal Reserve just announced it’s cutting interest rates. But in many parts of the world, interest rates are in negative territory. Given the right circumstances, U.S. rates could go negative, too.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

What the Fed may be weighing as it decides what to do about interest rates

Jul 29, 2019
Unemployment is low. Consumer spending is high. But we're also in a trade war with China, and growth is slowing around the world.
A view of the Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)