* What are the factors that would influence the Federal Reserve in adjusting the discount rate? * The amount of money that is in the reserve determines the discount rate. The quantity of loanable funds supplied must equal the quantity of loanable funds demanded. The discount rate is an implemented rate set by the Federal Reserve (Thornton, n.d.). The discount rate is the interest rate that the Federal Reserve lends to reserve depositories such as Wells Fargo or Chase Morgan. Each depository has a set of reserve requirements. These loans from the Federal Reserve enable them to meet these requirements. An increase in the discount rate means a decrease in the money supply and a decrease in the discount rate means an increase in the money supply. The discount rate is used to influence the economy. The discount rate is used to stimulate the economy. It helps to stop inflation or to increase spending, depending on the current health of the economy. * * * How does the discount rate affect the decisions of banks in setting their specific interest rates? * Since the discount rate controls the amount of money in the reserve it also affects interest rates on loans in the loanable funds market. A lower discount rate means more money supply which also means a lower interest rate. A high discount the rate equals a lower money supply and a higher interest rate. These all control the health of the economy. Interest rates are the prices that are charged or paid for the use of a financial asset (Colander, 2010). Financial assets are key variables in the financial sector and they can consist of either money or credit cards. However, money does not collect interest unless it is from the loanable funds market. In order for money to be considered in the loanable funds market it must be able to return into the loanable funds market for instance, an individual