The Federal Open Market Committee begins a scheduled, 2-day meeting today, the seventh of its 8 scheduled meetings this year, and the eighth Fed meeting overall. The FOMC is a 12-person sub-committee within the Federal Reserve. It's the group responsible for setting the nation's monetary policy and is led by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The FOMC's most well-known role is as the steward of the Fed Funds Rate. This is the overnight rate at which U.S. banks borrow money from … [Read more...]