The Fed’s Downward Trend at the Top

Illustration by The New York Times

Source: Federal Reserve System, via Haver Analytics The federal funds rate as set over the years by the Federal Reserve.

Since Paul Volcker, who stands 6 foot 7, left the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve in 1987, each successive Fed leader has stood at least a bit closer to the ground. Interest rates, coincidentally, have followed a similar path. With Janet Yellen poised to take over, the federal funds rate â€" a benchmark that sets the overnight cost of borrowing for banks â€" is effectively zero.