Most profitable year ever for Federal Reserve

[He3]

The Federal Reserve made a profit of $52.1bn (£32.2bn) in 2009, a rise of 47% over the previous year.

The sum allowed the central bank to pay a record $46.1bn to the US Treasury last year.

That was the largest amount ever paid by the central bank since its creation in 1914.

BBC News - Federal Reserve makes record $52.1bn profit

Where is youngdan?

[He3]

xinhua noticed this item:

Meanwhile, net earnings from currency swap arrangements, which have been established with 14 central banks, and investments denominated in foreign currencies totaled 2.6 billion dollars.

The Washington Post ends on a lighter note:

The CEO of the Federal Reserve, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, received a modest cost-of-living raise for 2010, despite the record earnings: He now makes $199,700, with no bonus at all.

[seenitallb4]

Well....the magiced up over 2 trillion "dollars" since the crisis began. The return on these "assets" was 52 billion or about 2%. The real story is that at the start of 2008, its balance sheet was below 900bn and that on top of the 2trn that they already declared into existence, they'll be monetizing abother 1.7 trillion this year. No doubt they will have even greater profits next year. The last bank I saw that grew their balance sheet that much was Anglo and the last time I saw money being devalued like that was in Zimbabwe. For some reason, the 52 billion does not enhance my feeling of safety.

[He3]

Well....the magiced up over 2 trillion "dollars" since the crisis began. The return on these "assets" was 52 billion or about 2%. The real story is that at the start of 2008, its balance sheet was below 900bn and that on top of the 2trn that they already declared into existence, they'll be monetizing abother 1.7 trillion this year. No doubt they will have even greater profits next year. The last bank I saw that grew their balance sheet that much was Anglo and the last time I saw money being devalued like that was in Zimbabwe. For some reason, the 52 billion does not enhance my feeling of safety.

Translating that post into Spinglish:

Much of the higher earnings came about because of the Fed's aggressive program of buying bonds, aiming to push interest rates down across the economy and thus stimulate growth. By the end of 2009, the Fed owned $1.8 trillion in U.S. government debt and mortgage-related securities, up from $497 billion a year earlier. The interest income on those investments was a major source of Fed profits -- though that income comes with risks, as the central bank could lose money if it later sells those securities to reduce the money supply.

washingtonpost.com