1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineGerman election 2025COP29 climate talks
USA Washington | Gebäude Federal Reserve Board
Image: Sarah Silbiger/REUTERSImage: Sarah Silbiger/REUTERS

US Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve is the United States' central bank. It's played a pivotal role in guiding the US through the global financial crisis through its low-interest monetary policy.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

Janet Yellen, the new US Treasury secretary

Who is US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen?

Janet Yellen will need all the help she can get to put the US economy back on track after its COVID-19 derailment.
BusinessJanuary 26, 2021
Janet Yellen

US: Biden picks Janet Yellen for treasury chief

US President-elect Joe Biden says he will nominate ex-Fed chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary.
PoliticsNovember 30, 2020
US Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System seal

US interest rate to stay near zero

The US stock market received a boost from the Federal Reserve's announcement that interest rates would stay near zero.
PoliticsSeptember 16, 2020
Farmers stage a protest in Koblenz ahead of a meeting of EU agricultural ministers

Farm reform protesters converge on Germany's Koblenz

Protesters said Germany bears "immense" responsibility to help reform the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 31, 2020
USA Trump kritisiert Zinssenkung der US-Notenbank als unzureichend | Jerome Powell

Fed cuts rates due to coronavirus

The US Fed has cut rates by half a percentage point, responding to growing economic risks from the coronavirus.
BusinessMarch 3, 2020
Alexey Potapov at work as a surgean

Why Russian doctors are fed up

Overtime and bad pay are normal for staff working in state-run hospitals. Many work side jobs just to make ends meet.
SocietyNovember 28, 2019
A handful of US dollars (picture-alliance/dpa/S. Goya)

US could join the negative interest rate club

Once a critic of low interest rates, President Trump is now calling for negative rates, much to the chagrin of savers.
BusinessOctober 29, 2019
USA Jerome Powell Notenbankchef mit Trump vor dem Weißen Haus

Fed cuts interest rates, discord continues

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice in the last decade, both coming in the last seven weeks.
BusinessSeptember 19, 2019
US President Donald Trump

Trump reacts to China with tariff increase

The US president increased tensions with the hike as the stock markets went into a tailspin.
PoliticsAugust 24, 2019
Jerome Powell

Trump slams US Fed after trade war comments

The president accused the central banker of being an "enemy" of the US, comparing him to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
BusinessAugust 23, 2019
Australia, Sydney | Trial against vegan parents

Sydney parents who fed daughter vegan diet avoid jail

The toddler suffered from malnutrition due to being fed a conservative vegan diet.
CrimeAugust 22, 2019
Donald Trump in Morristown, New Jersey

Trump feels the heat over US downturn fears

Trump is pressuring the Fed to stave off a sharp downturn as he seeks reelection in 2020. But what else can he do?
BusinessAugust 22, 2019
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell with US President Donald Trump

US Fed lowers interest rate for first time in decade

The US central bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2008, citing concerns about the global economy.
BusinessJuly 31, 2019
The Federal Reserve building in Washington

US Fed holds rates, cuts growth forecast

The Fed has held interest rates at their current levels and lowered growth forecasts to 2.1 percent for this year.
BusinessMarch 21, 2019
Women dressed in bright colors speak to a local doctor in India

Fed up with fly ash, Indian villagers take on power plants

Villagers in India are fighting back against power plants over toxic ash. Karthikeyan Hemalatha reports from Chennai.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 13, 2019
Symbolbild Frankreich Nationale Identität

Inside Europe: Why French mayors are fed up

According to a recent poll in France, one in two of the country's mayors are dissatisfied with their job and considering standing down at the next municipal elections in eighteen months' time. Given that France has a rather astonishing 35,000 mayors, this is a large-scale problem. Our correspondent John Laurenson sent us this postcard from the village of Hermeray, with his thoughts on the matter.
PoliticsJanuary 25, 201904:18 min
A Congressman walks down the steps outside the United States Capitol Building

US shutdown cost set to rise

The partial closure of the US government has become the country's longest-ever shutdown.
BusinessJanuary 12, 2019
Wall street traders high five

Wall Street, Asian markets see dramatic rebound

The Dow Jones and Nasdaq recorded their strongest daily gains in nearly a decade.
BusinessDecember 27, 2018
Wall Street New York

US markets fall as Trump tweets at Fed

Wall Street stocks fell again as the president renewed his attack on the Federal Reserve.
BusinessDecember 24, 2018
Jerome Powell

The US Fed arms itself for the future

The US central bank has raised interest rates once again to prepare for an uncertain and bumpy economic future.
BusinessDecember 20, 2018
Federal Reserve building in Washington

Fed raises rates again

Fed policymakers have raised the key interest rate one more time, thus drawing the ire of US President Donald Trump.
BusinessDecember 19, 2018
04.2015 DW Business Sendungslogo

DW Business – Europe & America

US Fed alarmed by mounting corporate debt - No-deal: Brexit could shrink UK economy by 9.3%
BusinessNovember 28, 201811:18 min
Quadrig: Hildegard Stausberg

It's not inexplicable

Hildegard Stausberg
Brazil's ailing economy and crime and corruption may have contributed to some people's decision to vote for Bolsonaro.
PoliticsOctober 31, 2018
Boehme Henrik Kommentarbild App

A toxic cocktail for the world economy

Henrik Böhme
It's too early to talk of a doomsday scenario, but the economic risks shouldn't be ignored, says DW's Henrik Böhme.
BusinessOctober 12, 2018
external

DW Business – Europe & America

Stocks Slump, Driver's Seat
BusinessOctober 11, 201811:18 min
external

Markets still reeling on growth and trade fears

Global markets are sliding and jittery. So is US president Donald Trump, who says the Fed is "crazy"
BusinessOctober 11, 201801:56 min
IMF chief Christine Lagarde

IMF's Lagarde defends US rate hikes

Her support came after Donald Trump had called the Fed's policies "crazy" and harmful.
BusinessOctober 11, 2018
A bundle of $20 bills

Inside the money factory that prints $500 million every day

DW visits the Washington printer of the US dollar and meets those who create billions of fresh bank notes each year.
BusinessSeptember 28, 20189 images
USA, Washington, Eccles Building

Third Fed rate hike in 2018

The American central bank has raised the benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point.
BusinessSeptember 26, 2018
Chinese container port

Trade conflicts to dampen growth in Asia

Rising debt, US interest rate hikes, but above all simmering trade conflicts will take their toll on Asian economies.
BusinessSeptember 26, 2018
China Maklerfirma in Shanghai

Are we about to face a new Asian financial crisis?

Emerging market economies and their currencies have come under severe stress over the past several weeks.
BusinessSeptember 13, 2018
Laurence M. Ball, Ökonom, Johns Hopkins University

Face to face with economist Laurence M. Ball

Why wasn't Lehman Brothers bailed out?
BusinessSeptember 11, 201802:52 min
Screenshot Made in Germany

Chronicle of a crash: The bubble bursts

Financial crisis - Chronicle of a traumatic weekend.
BusinessSeptember 11, 201803:01 min
04.2015 DW Business Sendungslogo

DW Business – Europe

US, Mexico close to deal to update NAFTA - Markets up after US Federal Reserve chair comments
BusinessAugust 27, 201805:30 min
NYSE traders

S&P 500 in longest bull-market run

Wall Street is marking the longest ever period of bullish investor sentiment, but there's a question mark.
BusinessAugust 22, 2018
external

DW Wirtschaft – Europa & Amerika

Dollar Dips, Game Changer, US and China set to impose further tariffs
BusinessAugust 22, 201811:21 min
USA Jerome Powell Notenbankchef mit Trump vor dem Weißen Haus

Central banking: Independent or not?

For many years, the independence of central banks has been seen as essential to economic stability but that is changing.
BusinessAugust 21, 2018
Donald Trump

Trump criticizes Federal Reserve again

As president, Donald Trump has not been shy to dispense with convention. Criticizing the Fed is one such example.
BusinessAugust 21, 2018
external

US economic numbers are good, but are they sustainable?

The US economy grew at its fastest rate in four years during the second quarter.
BusinessJuly 27, 201801:31 min
Apple factory in China

Trump willing to slap tariffs on all Chinese imports

Trump has said he would slap tariffs on all Chinese imports, while also chiding the Fed's tightening monetary policy.
BusinessJuly 20, 2018
Jerome Powell

US Fed concerned over trade tensions

The Fed says US business owners are already scaling back investment plans on the back of concerns over trade conflicts.
BusinessJuly 6, 2018
external

Deutsche Bank fails stress test

Deutsche Bank's US division has failed the second round of the US Federal Reserve's annual stress test.
BusinessJune 29, 201801:08 min
Deutsche Bank headquarters on Wall Street, New York.

Deutsche Bank fails US stress test

German banking giant Deutsche Bank's US operations failed the Fed's second round of stress tests, the qualitative test.
BusinessJune 29, 2018
USA - Deutsche Bank - New York

US banks, Deutsche, clear Fed stress tests

The biggest US banks, including Deutsche Bank's US subsidiary, are equipped to survive a recession, the Fed says.
BusinessJune 22, 2018
04.2015 DW Business Sendungslogo

DW Business – Europe & Asia

VW to pay another billion-euro Dieselgate fine – German tech ensures World Cup runs smoothly
BusinessJune 14, 201811:18 min
USA, Washington, Eccles Building

Second US rate hike in 2018

The central bank hikes interest rates to stay ahead of growing inflation amid strong growth and robust employment.
BusinessJune 13, 2018
Weltkarte

New Zealand fed up with being left off maps

New Zealand somewhere east of Australia is fed up with being left on the cutting floor
TravelMay 3, 2018
Tennis Fed Cup 2018 Deutschland - Tschechien: Angelique Kerber

Germany crash out in Fed Cup semifinal after Kerber defeat

Angelique Kerber's straight-sets defeat to the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova sealed a semifinal exit in Stuttgart.
SportsApril 22, 2018
Manzoor Pashteen

Manzoor Pashteen: 'Pashtuns are fed up with war'

In a DW interview, activist Pashteen says he is being harassed for turning the Pashtun plight into a national discourse.
SocietyApril 11, 2018
04.2015 DW Business Sendungslogo

DW Business – Europe & America

Federal Reserve hikes key interest rates – EU targets US tech giants
BusinessMarch 21, 201811:21 min