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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve, still working to combat the effects of a severe credit squeeze, said Tuesday it had auctioned another $50 billion to cash-strapped banks at an interest rate of 2.820 percent.
It marked the ninth in a series of auctions that began in December that so far have pumped $310 billion in short-term loans into the nation's banking system.
The Fed hopes that the increased resources will encourage banks to keep lending to consumers and businesses and alleviate the economic drag from a severe credit squeeze that began last August.
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