Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a signal he is open to cutting interest rates, said the latest bout of turbulence in financial markets may put more strain on the economy.

The New York Federal Reserve, acknowledging ”heightened pressures” in money markets that are expected to last through the rest of the year, said it plans to conduct a series of repurchase agreements aimed at boosting liquidity in the credit markets. The announcement from the New York Fed, which carries out monetary policy set by the U.S. Federal Reserve, essentially puts in writing many of the steps the Fed often takes at this time of year.

The dollar ended another week of breaking new record lows against the Euro when reaching to 1.4967 on Friday. The Fed lower the growth expectation to 1.8% -2.5% for 2008 from 2.5% to 2.75%.

The number of furloughed workers claiming for unemployment insurance in the U.S. fell last week to the lowest level since Oct. 9, though wildfires increased the unemployment rolls in California, the Labor Department reported.

US Federal Reserve policy-makers began meeting against the backdrop of a still-plummeting US housing market that is sapping consumer optimism and may require more interest-rate tonic.

Federal Reserve policymakers at their September meeting felt compelled to act aggressively in lowering a key interest rate for the first time in over four years.

The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released the minutes of its September policy meeting this afternoon (known as Fed Minutes), inspiring Wall Street to boost the Dow to yet another all-time record high close today. Yes, there's still a half hour of trading time left in the session, but I'm going to go ahead and call this one.

The US Federal Reserve moved to cut rates and add liquidity to the financial system in recent weeks in the face of "significant market stress", chairman Ben Bernanke has told Congress.

The US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut of half a percentage point have delivered the best that financial markets could have hoped for. The first easing in US monetary policy for four years has come in response to the credit market crisis as the federal funds rate lowers to 4.75 per cent.

Fed Meeting: The result - Federal Reserve Meeting Lowers Interest Rate to 4.75 pct.

Investors can call it what they like - their Super Bowl, their Election Day, their Day of Reckoning - but they might want to keep in mind that Tuesday's decision may end up raising as many questions as it answers. Will Federal Reserve lower the interest rates?

Officials from the Federal Reserve on Saturday warned of dangers from a rising tide of trade disputes and the harmful impact on what one otherwise termed a "resilient" United States economy.