US Federal Reserve Says It Will Provide Sufficient Liquidity If NeededThe Federal Reserve, the United States' central bank, announced Tuesday that was prepared to provide sufficient money to banks if needed after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington."The Federal Reserve System is open and operating. The discount window is available to meet liquidity needs," the Fed said in a brief statement. Earlier, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt announced that U.S. financial markets have decided to close Tuesday after several airplanes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. "As a safety precaution while the tragic events of today are sorted out, the securities markets have decided not to open for trading today," Pitt said. "We are continuing to monitor the situation along with the securities markets, and investors should be assured that the disruption to normal trading patterns is a temporary phenomenon; trading will resume as soon as it is practicable to do so," he added. At the Treasury Department, officials announced that the regular weekly auction of four-week bills that was scheduled for Tuesday would be delayed until Wednesday. The department, next to the White House, was evacuated after the report of a plane crashing into the Pentagon. |
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