Your friend the Fed

摘要

When the Federal Reserve talks, traders listen and markets move. Here's a look at the Fed, the tools it uses to manage the economy and what its actions mean to the market. New Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben S. Bernanke recently learned an important and difficult lesson. After telling Congress in late April the Federal Reserve Bank may pause in its campaign to raise interest rates, a move that triggered a market rally (see "When the Fed Chair speaks..." right), he seemingly reversed himself days later when he told a CNBC reporter the market misunderstood his statement and added, "It's worrisome that people would look at me as dovish and not necessarily an aggressive inflation fighter."