The Fed left its key rate unchanged this week, so a little about the FOMC

Within the Federal Reserve, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) makes important decisions applicable to, A) interest rates, B) growth of the money supply, and C) open market operations. Open market operations consist of the Fed’s buying and selling of Treasury securities.

The Federal Open Market Committee – made up of five members of the Board of Governors, the Chairman, the Vice Chairman as well as four regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents – partakes in eight meetings each year. Meeting intervals for the Federal Open Market Committee are set at five to eight weeks apart.