Economies

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is the largest issuer of bonds in the world. It issues debt securities in order to fund the activities of the U.S. government, which generally runs high budget deficits. As of 31 December 2018, the U.S. federal debt totaled slightly below US$22 trillion. Of that amount, $16.1 trillion was held by the public and $5.9 trillion was held by other entities of the federal…

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is an official provider of energy-related data and analytics. Initially created by the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, the EIA specializes in the collection, analysis and dissemination of energy industry data at the federal level. Producers, traders and government officials view the EIA as a leading authority on the current state of global energy. Mission And Products Dating back to the oil crises…

Monetary policy is made up of the decisions and actions taken by a central bank to achieve its goals, which are typically to promote economic growth, create jobs and lower interest rates and inflation.

The money supply is the amount of currency available to consumers and businesses to make payments, in addition to the money held in checking and savings accounts. It is also made up of different components.

In this FXCM Insights article, learn more about the Federal Open Market Committee—the 12-member organisation that serves as the policymaking unit of the U.S. Federal reserve.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a statistic derived and used around the globe to identify prevailing inflationary or deflationary pressures. It is calculated by averaging the prices of a basket of select goods and services commonly consumed by households.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private, not-for-profit agency authorised by the U.S. Congress to protect American investors from fraud and wrong-doing by securities brokers. It's not part of the U.S. government but is overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is part of the government. FINRA regulates U.S. brokerage firms by enforcing its own rules as well as federal securities laws and those of the Municipal…

Probably no other American president has expressed so much public displeasure with his own choice to head the U.S. Federal Reserve as has Donald Trump with Jerome Powell. It actually reached the point that much speculation has arisen as to whether or not he can fire the Fed chair if he wishes. The quick answer seems to be no, but there may be some highly political and difficult means for…

Since its creation in 1973 by the Fed, the trade-weighted U.S. dollar index has been used to track the dollar's value against the currencies of major American trading partners.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government. It regulates the futures, options, derivatives and swaps markets. Learn more about how the CFTC functions at FXCM.

There is an important difference between "on-the-run" and "off-the-run" securities that goes beyond distinguishing between newer and older issues. Learn more about these securities at FXCM Insights.