Fed Vows Low Rates for "Extended Period"

Let me help you understand this, and if you do already, indulge me. When the Fed lowers interest rates, it essentially means that it is loaning money it created out of thin air, to be spent by the government. So low interest rates = SPENDING. And isn't spending what got us into this mess in the first place? Seriously folks, you have got to be seriously brain damaged to believe the government when it tells you spending recklessly got us into this calamity, but the best way to get us out of it is to spend recklessly. THEY'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE. This is how we know the economy is going to completely tank, that the currency is going to be destroyed utterly. It's their intention, and if you understand economics even just a little, this is glaringly obvious. Prepare for economic apocalypse. END THE FED.

CBS News -

The Federal Reserve has decided to hold interest rates at a record low and pledged to keep them there for an "extended period" to nurture the economic recovery and lower unemployment.

One member - Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City - dissented from the Fed's decision to retain the pledge to hold rates at record lows. He believes the economy has improved sufficiently to drop the pledge, which has been in place for nearly a year.

The Fed made no changes to a $1.25 trillion economic support program aimed at driving down mortgage rates and bolster housing. Reports on home sales this week pointed to a fragile housing market.

Fed policymakers said economic activity has continued to "strengthen," the deterioration in the job market is easing and consumers are spending moderately. But they warned that high unemployment, lackluster income growth and tight credit could crimp that spending.

Against that backdrop, the Fed kept its target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent, where it's stood since last December.

In response, commercial banks' prime lending rate, used to peg rates on home equity loans, certain credit cards and other consumer loans, will remain about 3.25 percent. That's its lowest point in decades.

Super-low interest rates are good for borrowers who can get a loan and are willing to take on more debt. But those same low rates hurt savers. They're especially hard on people living on fixed incomes who are earning measly returns on savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

Investors were skittish leading up to the announcement, sending the Dow Jones industrial average fell 50 points in afternoon trading - the sixth drop for stocks in the past eight days.

Meanwhile, a 7.6 percent drop in sales of new homes in December brought concerns about how fast the economy is recovering.

The drop also followed hearings on Capitol Hill where Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner answered questions about the government's rescue of insurance giant American International Group Inc. last year. Geithner oversaw the bailout as head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also testified.

The hearing was the latest event in Washington to occupy investors. The U.S. market has been spooked by President Barack Obama's push to restrict trading by major financial institutions as well as concerns that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke might not get confirmed in the Senate for a second term.

Paul Volcker, a former Fed chairman and the head of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, will testify before Congress next week about Mr. Obama's plans to overhaul of banking regulations. Traders will also be glued to President Obama's prime-time State of the Union speech for more clues about his plans to clamp down on the nation's banks.