0.00% - 0.25%

Japan - Version 2.0

I hope it's less buggy than version 1.0

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate to a range of zero to 0.25% today. The cut surprised most economists who were expecting the Fed to lower rates to 0.5% but since the Fed's rate was effectively zero anyways, Bernanke just said "What the heck, let's throw 'em a curveball." The Federal Reserve has never set a range for interest rates and has never cut to lower than 0.50%

If this rate cut doesn't work, the Fed will try leaving pallets of cash outside the doors of the 12 Federal Reserve banks, free for the taking. The cash giveaway will work like the Halloween honor system where your anti-social neighbor would leave a bowl full of candy next to a sign asking you to please just take one, only the Fed will encourage everyone to grab the cash with both hands or wheelbarrows.

Now that the benchmark rate is zero, the next trick in Bernanke's bag is full blown quantitative easing. The Fed will be buying Treasuries, which is sorta like opening a restaurant where you're both head chef and customer...