Each and every day, we’re subjected to tons of economic information from numerous sources, including television, newspapers and magazines, radio, and the Internet. And even with such an overload of data as this, it represents only a minuscule fraction of the monumentally large and complicated puzzle that makes up the economy. To make matters worse, [...]

Part 2: How the Reserve Regulates Money and the Economy The purpose of the Federal Reserve System (see Part 1 of this series) is to exercise control over the country’s banking reserves. It influences overall monetary and credit conditions, and thus movements in the economy, by actions which affect both the amount and cost of [...]

Part 1: Purpose and Organization The Federal Reserve System was created by the United States Congress in 1913 in order to provide a safer, more flexible banking and monetary system. Over time, this original function evolved into the broader economic and financial objectives of facilitating the solidity and growth of the national economy, maintaining a [...]

Interest and fees charged on a loan have the effect of increasing the cost of an object or service purchased with credit. Various methods which are used to calculate interest rates can mislead a borrower about the actual cost of a loan. The interest rate that you pay to borrow money is influenced by numerous [...]

Back in the day, choosing which bank to put your money in was relatively simple. The closest one to your home or job, or the one that offered the biggest toaster, was the one that got your business. Ah, the days of simplicity. Today, there are so many choices in banks that your head could [...]