Instead of flipping condos, you could be flipping burgers -- and I don't think the Fed cares.

Good article on our favorite - the Fed.

My take is they'll keep hiking way beyond what Wall Street is thinking. Heck, look at what the New Zealand central bank is having to do to get control of their housing bubble...

Who’s afraid of the Federal Reserve?

Some experts say the fate of the economy next year will hinge on how high rates are raised

The mighty Federal Reserve. It's more powerful than a ballooning housing market, able to stop inflation in a single bound. And, if it slips, if it uses its super powers unwisely, if it goes too far, it could push the economy into recession with just a nudge of its pinkie.

That's one way of looking at the nation's central bank. Under outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, it has become the main way. The Fed is seen as the arbiter of all things economic, the capital of Moneyland, with Greenspan as its ruler and resident hard-to-understand genius.

With the chairman's seat at the central bank expected to turn over to Ben Bernanke in January, it's time for a reality check. Just how powerful is the Fed?