STATE OF BUSINESS Tightening Up
From Washington last week, the Federal Government reached out a firm hand to tighten the reins on the U.S. economy.
Authorized by the Federal Reserve Board and its chairman, William McChesney Martin Jr., the Federal Reserve System's districts across the U.S. started boosting the rediscount, i.e., interest, rate to banks who borrow money from the Federal Reserve. Within 48 hours, ten Federal Reserve Banks announced increases in their rates of ΒΌ to a total of 2% on loans. In Cleveland, where autos, steel and machine tools are rolling along at record rates, the increase was a full...