On Wednesday, March $16,2022,$ the FOMC began to raise the target range for the federal funds rate over a

series of steps that continued for more than a year. To see the impact, plot on a daily basis from the start of

$2022$ to the end of $2023$ the interest rate on reserve balances $($FRED code: ORB$)$ and the effective federal

funds rate $($FRED code: DFF$).$ Explain the plot, noting the impact of the FOMC decisions on these two

rates. In light of what you learned from answering Data Exploration question $1,$ why do you think that the

FOMC made several relatively large rate hikes during $2022?(2.$ On Wednesday, March $16,2022,$ the FOMC began to raise the target range for the federal funds rate over a series of steps that continued for more than a year. To see the impact, plot on a daily basis from the start of $2022$ to the end of $2023$ the interest rate on reserve balances $($FRED code: IORB$)$ and the effective federal funds rate $($FRED code: DFF$).$ Explain the plot, noting the impact of the FOMC decisions on these two rates. In light of what you learned from answering Data Exploration question $1,$ why do you think that the FOMC made several relatively large rate hikes during $2022?($LO$4)$

$3.$ Assess the impact of targeted asset purchases by plotting since $2003$ on a monthly basis the Federal Reserve's holdings of mortgage$-$backed securities $($FRED code: WSHOMCB$)$ and $($on the right scale$)$ the average yield on $30-$year fixed$-$rate mortgages $($FRED code: MORTGAGE$30$US$).$ Discuss how these purchases might support both the housing market and the banking system. $($LO$4)$