Make Me Smart

How does the Fed’s quantitative (un)easing plan work?

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The Federal Reserve continued its interest-rate-raising spree today to help curb inflation. The other thing the Fed has been working on is unwinding its “quantitative easing” program. One listener wants to know how that works. We’ll explain. Plus, why can members of Congress buy and sell stocks so freely? Isn’t that a conflict of interest? We’re wondering the same thing.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

  • “To understand the Fed’s bond-buying dilemma, picture a lake” from “Marketplace”
  • “Despite their influence and extensive access to information, members of Congress can buy and sell stocks with few restrictions” from The New York Times
  • “72 members of Congress have violated a law designed to prevent insider trading and stop conflicts-of-interest” from Business Insider
  • “Democrats Eye a Major Shift in How Corporations Are Taxed” from The New York Times
  • “Why the U.S. is struggling to modernize the electric grid” from CNBC

    • Keep sending your questions. We’re at [email protected] or leave us a voice memo at 508-U-B-SMART.

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