[A primer on how the inflation tax works.] “Turning a profit for the Treasury Department is certainly not the Fed’s main goal, but it can’t hurt. So how exactly is the Fed making [the Treasury] money? First, here’s an important distinction: When the Fed buys bonds, it’s not spending the government’s cash. Rather it creates the money itself, basically by electronically crediting the money to banks. The Fed then earns interest on the Treasuries it holds, and while interest rates are very low, the sheer mass of bonds the Fed holds nevertheless makes for quite a windfall.”
http://economy.money.cnn.com/2012/09/01/how-fed-stimulus-earns-a-profit-for-taxpayers/
Related posts:
IMF: infrastructure spending spree last chance to revive growth
Poland seeks media blackout in trial over secret CIA prison it hosted
Syrian opposition leader resigns, castigating global ‘inaction’
Japan says it faces increasing threats from China, North Korea
France: The new sick man of Europe?
Commodity Rout Worsens as Prices Tumble to Lowest Since 2002
Philly mom faces jailtime due to New Jersey's strict gun laws
15 new UK banks in five years, predicts Metro founder
How Switzerland is weathering the storm
Ben Bernanke Joins Hedge Fund Citadel as an Adviser
Study: Democracy in decline around the world
Lawyers to challenge U.S. ‘No Fly’ list in federal court in Oregon
German Intelligence Worked Closely with NSA on Data Surveillance
Despite central bank warnings, Bitcoin gains toehold in Middle East
Peru’s protesters shake up politics with challenge to President Humala