Alan Greenspan's reign at FOMC ends

Greenspan steps down after nearly 19 years as chairman. Of course he had to raise rates one more time before he left... Financial Times - The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday raised interest rates another quarter point, a decision that brought to a close Alan Greenspan’s long chairmanship of the central bank but not an end to its campaign of rate increases. [...] During his 18½ years at the Fed, Mr Greenspan has chaired 155 FOMC meetings, including a small number of emergency meetings. Over the period, growth and inflation have averaged 3.1 per cent and unemployment 5.5 per cent. Following Tuesday’s meeting the Fed hosted a farewell lunch for Mr Greenspan and his FOMC colleagues, followed by an afternoon party to which with the staff. Mr Greenspan bequeaths to his successor an economy that is expected to grow at close to its trend rate, commonly put at 3¼-3½ per cent this year, and in which inflation expectations are controlled. Everyone say hello to our new Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke. Hi Ben!