| January 25-26 NO CHANGE | March 15 NO CHANGE | April 26-27 NO CHANGE | June 21-22 NO CHANGE |
| August 9 NO CHANGE | September 20-21 NO CHANGE | November 1-2 NO CHANGE | December 13 NO CHANGE |
2011 was the third year in a row when the Fed Funds rate - the official Fed US interest rate - remained at ZERO throughout the year. In the middle of the year, the Fed stated officially that their present ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) would extend until "at least" the middle of 2013.
| January 26-27 NO CHANGE | March 16 NO CHANGE | April 27-28 NO CHANGE | June 22-23 NO CHANGE |
| August 10 NO CHANGE | September 21 NO CHANGE | November 2-3 NO CHANGE | December 14 NO CHANGE |
2010 was the second year in a row when the Fed Funds rate - the official Fed US interest rate - remained at ZERO throughout the year. As had been the case since the beginning of 2009, the last FOMC press release of 2010 kept the statement that rates would be kept at current levels for "an extended period". That period had now extended for two years - and counting. Also in 2010, the Fed abandoned all pretense of having any type of "exit strategy" from their stimulus program. Finally, there was the second tranch of direct Treausury debt monetisation begun on November 3.
| January 27-28 Rates at ZERO | March 17-18 NO CHANGE | April 28-29 NO CHANGE | June 23-24 NO CHANGE |
| August 11-12 NO CHANGE | September 22-23 NO CHANGE | November 3-4 NO CHANGE | December 15-16 NO CHANGE |
In 2009, for the first time in the history of the Fed, official US interest rates (the Fed Funds Rate) remained at ZERO for the entire year. The Fed cut their official rates to a range of ZERO to 0.25 percent on December 16, 2008 and left them there for the entire year of 2009. At the last FOMC meeting of the year on December 15-16, the Fed stated again that rates would be kept at current levels for "an extended period".
| January 29-30 Rate Cut: 0.50% | March 18 Rate Cut: 0.75% | April 29-30 Rate Cut: 0.25% | June 24-25 NO CHANGE |
| August 5 NO CHANGE | September 16 NO CHANGE | October 28-29 Rate Cut: 0.50% | December 16 Rate Cut: 1.00% |
Two rate cuts outside FOMC meetings in 2008:
| January 22 Rate cut: -0.75% | October 8 Rate cut: -0.50% |
2008 was the year of the global financial "logjam" as commercial lending dried up. As the Fed led global central banks into an orgy of money creation, commodity prices soared in the first half of the year only to dive even faster in the second half as deleveraging overwhelmed money creation. On December 16, the Fed reached central bank "nirvana" by cutting its controlling "funds rate" to a target of between 0.00 and 0.25 percent. It remains to be seen what the Fed will do in 2009. The only thing which is certain is that they WON'T be cutting official interest rates.
| January 30-31 NO CHANGE | March 20-21 NO CHANGE | May 9 NO CHANGE | June 27-28 NO CHANGE |
| August 7 NO CHANGE | September 18 Rate Cut: -0.50% | October 30-31 Rate Cut: -0.25% | December 11 Rate Cut: -0.25% |
Ben Bernanke's first full year as Fed Chairman. 2007 was the year when the LAST great market bubble - the US real estate bubble - burst spectacularly. That was made plain by the "subprime" crisis of August 2007 and sealed when the Fed sprung a "surprise" 0.50% Discount Rate cut on August 17, 2007. By the end of the year, the Fed Funds rate had fallen from 5.25 percent to 4.25 percent.
| January 31 Rate rise: +0.25% | March 28 Rate rise: +0.25% | May 10 Rate rise: +0.25% | June 28-29 Rate rise: +0.25% |
| August 8 NO CHANGE | September 20 NO CHANGE | October 24-25 NO CHANGE | December 12 NO CHANGE |
Alan Greenspan came to the end of a 19 year tenure at the Fed in January 2006. The 0.25% rate rises continued until the June FOMC meeting and rates have been held steady since. Hence, in the two years between June 2004 and June 2006, the Fed Funds rate was raised from 1.00% to 5.25% in seventeen equal 0.25% steps.
| February 1-2 Rate rise: +0.25% | March 22 Rate rise: +0.25% | May 3 Rate rise: +0.25 | June 29-30 Rate rise: +0.25% |
| August 9 Rate rise: +0.25% | September 20 Rate rise: +0.25% | November 1 Rate rise: +0.25% | December 13 Rate rise: +0.25% |
Eight meetings in 2005 and eight 0.25% rate rises, making thirteen in all since the Fed Funds rate lifted off its 1.0% lows on June 30, 2004.
| January 27-28 NO CHANGE | March 16 NO CHANGE | May 4 NO CHANGE | June 29-30 Rate rise: +0.25% |
| August 10 Rate rise: +0.25% | September 21 Rate rise: +0.25% | November 10 Rate rise: +0.25% | December 14 Rate rise: +0.25% |
Fed Funds rate raised 125% in six months in 2004 - from 1.00% in June to 2.25% in December.
| January 28-29 NO CHANGE | March 18 NO CHANGE | May 6 NO CHANGE | June 24-25 Rate cut: -0.25% |
| August 12 NO CHANGE | September 16 NO CHANGE | October 28 NO CHANGE | December 9 NO CHANGE |
One rate cut in 2003. Fed Funds rate ends the year at 1.00%.
| January 29-30 NO CHANGE | March 19 NO CHANGE | May 7 NO CHANGE | June 25-26 NO CHANGE |
| August 13 NO CHANGE | September 24 NO CHANGE | November 6 Rate cut: -0.50% | December 10 NO CHANGE |
One rate cut in 2002. Fed Funds rate ends the year at 1.25%.
| January 30-31 Rate cut: -0.50% | March 20 Rate cut: -0.50% | May 15 Rate cut: -0.50% | June 26-27 Rate cut: -0.25% |
| August 21 Rate cut: -0.25% | October 2 Rate cut: -0.50% | November 6 Rate cut: -0.50% | December 11 Rate cut: -0.25% |
Three rate cuts outside FOMC meetings in 2001:
| January 3 Rate cut: -0.50% | April 18 Rate cut: -0.50% | September 17 Rate cut: -0.50% |
ELEVEN rate cuts in 2001. Fed Funds rate cut from 6.50% to 1.75%.
That's 475 basis points (4.75%) - or - 73.1% of the way to ZERO.