Fed Grabs Another $30B in Currency Swap

The Federal Reserve announced today that it had set up another $30 billion worth of currency swap lines—designed to put more dollars into world markets—in its latest effort to deal with the credit market. The Fed arranged two $10 billion reciprocal circuits with Australia and Sweden’s central banks, and $5 billion lines with Denmark and Norway, Reuters reports.

Federal chief Ben Bernanke, meanwhile, is spending a second day on Capitol Hill in an effort to sell the administration’s bailout plan. “Economic activity appears to have decelerated broadly,” Bernanke told lawmakers. “Stabilization of our financial system is an essential precondition for economic recovery.”