Summary: The Federal Reserve is powerful. Some say too powerful. It is the mastermind of our monetary policy and chief regulator of our banks. But there's more than meets the eye when it comes to the central banking system. For one, it has the power to create money out of thin air to cover government programs. It is also the lender of last resort and can buy bonds when no one else will. In fact, today the Fed the is coming to the rescue for the bond market which nearly collapsed on March 15th of this year.
