In autumn 2001 , as a decisive reaction to the September 11 attacks and various corporate scandals which undermined the economy , the Greenspan-led Federal Reserve initiated a series of interest cuts that brought down the Federal Funds rate to 1 % in 2004 . While presenting the Federal Reserve 's Monetary Policy Report in July 2002 , he said that " It is not that humans have become any more greedy than in generations past . It is that the avenues to express greed had grown so enormously , " and suggested that financial markets need to be regulated . His critics , led by Steve Forbes , attributed the rapid rise in commodity prices and gold to Greenspan 's loose monetary policy , which Forbes believed had caused excessive asset inflation and a weak dollar . By late 2004 , the price of gold was higher than its 12-year moving average
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Alan Greenspan