The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve, and informally as the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907. Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded and its structure has evolved. Events such as the Great Depression were major factors leading to changes in the system.

The Congress established three key objectives for monetary policy—maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates—in the Federal Reserve Act. The first two objectives are sometimes referred to as the Federal Reserve's dual mandate. Its duties have expanded over the years, and today, according to official Federal Reserve documentation, include conducting the nation's monetary policy, supervising and regulating banking institutions, maintaining the stability of the financial system and providing financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions. The Fed also conducts research into the economy and releases numerous publications, such as the Beige Book.

Peter David Schiff (pronounced /ˈʃɪf/; born March 23, 1963) is an American businessman, investment broker, author and financial commentator. Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York City.

Schiff frequently appears as a guest on financial television and is often quoted in major financial publications. He is host of The Peter Schiff Show, a radio show broadcast on terrestrial and internet radio. He is a frequent guest on internet radio as well as the host of the former podcast Wall Street Unspun. In 2010 Schiff ran as a candidate in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat from Connecticut.

Schiff is known for his bearish views on the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while bullish on investment in tangible assets as well as foreign stocks and currencies.

Peter Schiff was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, Irwin Schiff, is a prominent figure in the U.S. tax protester movement, currently serving a 13-year sentence for tax evasion. Peter Schiff attended Beverly Hills High School in California, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 with a Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting.

James George Janos (born July 15, 1951), better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American statesman, actor, author, and former professional wrestler who served as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003.

Ventura served as a Navy UDT during the Vietnam War. He later embarked on an 11-year professional wrestling career from 1975 to 1986, taking up the stage name Jesse "The Body" Ventura. He had a long tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as a performer and color commentator, and was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame in 2004. After leaving wrestling, Ventura began a successful film career, appearing in films such as 1987's Predator.

Ventura first entered politics as Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota from 1991 to 1995. He ran as the Reform Party candidate in the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running a campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual ads that implored citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". The campaign was successful, and Ventura served from January 4, 1999, to January 6, 2003, without running for a second term.

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell), with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Crystal Clear", "Rollercoaster", "Floatation", and "Cybernetic" (with Robert Fripp and Phil Manzanera).

The Grid formed in 1988 and had their first success with debut single, "Floatation", released on East West Records in 1990. They went on to release a string of ten UK hit singles and four albums, and toured the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. The group's 1994 album Evolver reached #14 in the UK Albums Chart. The lead single from this album, "Swamp Thing", featuring elaborate banjo lines played by Roger Dinsdale. "Swamp Thing" proved to be a commercial success in the UK, Europe and Australia, reaching #3 in the UK and Australia and selling a total of one million copies.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, Norris and Ball agreed to a hiatus period in order pursue individual music interests. Norris formed the Droyds, which went on to remix tracks by musicians including Armand Van Helden and Siobhan Fahey, and wrote the official biography of Paul Oakenfold (published in 2007): Ball reformed Soft Cell with Marc Almond, and also wrote music scores for films.^{[citation needed]} Norris has since formed the psychedelic duo, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, with DJ Erol Alkan, and has released a number of solo records and remixes under the name The Time and Space Machine.