Whatever else it may be, the Federal Reserve is not boring. Indeed, by the standards of other central banks, it is hyperactive. The shock 0.75 percentage point reduction in the Federal Funds rate of interest last week, particularly if followed by the widely expected 0.5 percentage points on Wednesday, is a dramatic example. The Fed is the exemplar of an activist central bank. But US fiscal authorities are not far behind, as the $150bn (just over 1 per cent of gross domestic product) fiscal package going through Congress demonstrates.