Shocks, Recession and 9/11: When the Fed Intervenes

The US Federal Reserve has been in the business of raising or cutting interest rates to better steer the changing dynamics of the American economy. A look at the pivotal moments of rate changes in the last 40 years.

Paul A Volcker (1979 - 1987):

Battling stagnation (1979 to the 1980s)

* In October 1979, Volcker held a late Saturday night news conference to announce a bold new package of measures to tame runaway inflation that was in part a result of oil price increases. The new policy raised the Fed’s benchmark rate by 4 percentage points, to 15.5 per cent, in