The energy sector over the next few years may look markedly different than it has over the last few years. Aside from political changes and OPEC’s rebalancing efforts, the markets are also facing a different dynamic with the Federal Reserve – interest rate hikes. The Fed cuts interest rates from more than 5 percent in 2007, to as little as 0.25 percent by 2009. These cuts were intended to help stimulate and stabilize an economy suffering from the worst recession since the 1920s. The Fed’s actions alone were not enough to stabilize the economy though, so the Federal Government stepped in and lent large amounts of money to all of the major financial institutions in the U.S., and Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which included a range of economic support measures including tax breaks and infrastructure spending. The combination of actions from the Fed […]