en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Greenspan
3 corrections found
On May 18, 2004, Greenspan was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve for an unprecedented fifth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Greenspan’s fifth term was not unprecedented. William McChesney Martin had already been appointed to a fifth four-year term as Fed chair in 1967.
Full reasoning
This sentence is incorrect because Greenspan was not the first person to receive a fifth term as Federal Reserve chair.
A contemporaneous 1967 TIME report states that President Lyndon Johnson appointed William McChesney Martin to his "fifth four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board." The Federal Reserve’s own historical materials also show Martin served as chair from April 2, 1951, to January 31, 1970, long before Greenspan’s 2004 renomination.
So Bush’s 2004 nomination gave Greenspan a fifth term, but it was not unprecedented.
2 sources
- Federal Reserve: Back at the Bank
President Johnson had appointed William McChesney Martin, 60, to his fifth four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
- Federal Reserve Board - Board of Governors Members, 1914-Present
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ... Wm. McC. Martin, Jr. Apr. 2, 1951 - Jan. 31, 1970.
In September 2005, Greenspan indicated he planned to retire on schedule on January 31, 2006, when his fifth term as chairman was set to expire.
January 31, 2006 was not the scheduled end of Greenspan’s fifth chairmanship term. His fifth four-year term as chair began on June 20, 2004; January 31, 2006 was the end of his separate Board membership term.
Full reasoning
This sentence mixes up Greenspan’s chairmanship term with his Board of Governors membership term.
The Federal Reserve announced on June 21, 2004 that Greenspan had been sworn in for a "fifth four-year term commencing on June 20, 2004." That means the chairmanship term would have run until June 2008, not January 31, 2006.
Contemporaneous coverage from CBS News explained why Greenspan was expected to leave on January 31, 2006: that date was when his separate 14-year term as a Fed board member was ending. So January 31, 2006 was the end of his Board seat, not the scheduled expiration of his fifth chair term.
2 sources
- FRB: Press Release--Chairman Greenspan sworn in for fifth term--June 21, 2004
Alan Greenspan ... took the oath of office as Chairman ... for a fifth four-year term commencing on June 20, 2004.
- Greenspan Keeps His Job - CBS News
Friends say Greenspan has told them that he plans to serve less than half of the new four-year term, choosing to retire on Jan. 31, 2006, when his separate 14-year term as a Fed board member is to end.
the Federal Reserve initiated a series of interest cuts to the federal funds rate to 1% in 2004.
The Fed had already cut the federal funds target to 1.00% in June 2003, not 2004. In 2004 it began raising rates, moving the target up to 1.25% on June 30, 2004.
Full reasoning
This date is wrong.
The Federal Reserve’s own June 25, 2003 FOMC statement says the Committee "decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate ... to 1 percent." So the target reached 1.00% in 2003.
By contrast, in 2004 the FOMC moved in the opposite direction. Its June 30, 2004 statement says it "decided today to raise its target for the federal funds rate ... to 1-1/4 percent."
So it is inaccurate to say the Fed cut rates to 1% in 2004; that happened in 2003, and 2004 marked the start of rate hikes.
2 sources
- FRB: Press Release -- FOMC statement -- June 25, 2003
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1 percent.
- FRB: Press Release--FOMC statement and Board discount rate action--June 30, 2004
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1-1/4 percent.