1. (Wall Street Journal) If you have access to the Interactive Edition of the Wall Street Journal, you can use the Briefing Books feature to obtain data on over 10,000 public companies. Use this feature to locate the briefing book on a large commercial bank in your area. Look at some of its press releases to determine how this bank has been inflenced by Federal Reserve regulations and monetary policy operations.
2. (Wall Street Journal) Open-market operations, in which the Federal Reserve buys and sells U.S. government bonds, are an important tool of monetary control. Look in the Wall Street Journal in the Money and Investing section. Find the page where bond activity is reported. Is the market for U.S. government bills and bonds an active market? What impact does the liquidity of this market have on the ability of the Federal Reserve to exert monetary control?