Final answer:
The U.S. Federal Reserve is responsible for regulating the banking system to protect depositors, deciding and implementing monetary policy using tools like open market operations, changing reserve requirements, and adjusting the discount rate. It does not negotiate export prices or insure negative net worth on bank balance sheets.
Step-by-step explanation:
The responsibilities of the U.S. Federal Reserve include several key functions aimed at managing the nation's monetary system and ensuring the stability of the financial system. Among these responsibilities are:
- Regulating the banking system to protect bank depositors and ensure the health of the bank's balance sheet.
- Deciding and carrying out monetary policy which involves choices about interest rates and the amount of money in circulation that influence economic activity.
The U.S. Federal Reserve uses tools such as open market operations, adjusting reserve requirements, and changing the discount rate to implement monetary policy. These tools influence the nation's money supply, which in turn affects credit conditions, the economy's level of activity, inflation, and unemployment rates. However, the Federal Reserve is not responsible for negotiating export prices or insuring a negative net worth of bank's balance sheets. Those areas fall outside of the Federal Reserve's direct responsibilities.