On April 18th, the Federal Reserve surprised the market by cutting interest rates by 50 basis points.

This was an unexpected decision which breathed life back into the stock market, producing gains of 3.89% for the S&P 500, 3.91% for the Dow, and a whopping 8.12% for the NASDAQ.  

Interest rates haven't been this low since 1994.  The Fed funds rate has dropped 2% since January.  This particular announcement was a surprise because the Fed wasn't scheduled to meet about it for another month.

Visit the indicators page for more information about Alan Greenspan, the Fed, and the U.S. Economy.

Alan Greenspan image source: REUTERS