Tell it to the Fed

America's lofty Federal Reserve is trying to get in touch with the people.

It is holding 10 public forums around the nation where citizens can deliver their own personal tales of financial destruction.

At its first forum in California, Fed officials heard from a woman who had already lost her home, and a man struggling to avoid losing his.

The forums are part of an effort to connect with the public amid the prospect that interest rates may rise again before there is any improvement in unemployment, says Robert Eisenbeis, former research director for the Atlanta Fed.

One reason for the move, he says, is the need to prepare Americans for the fact "we're not going to have a low-interest-rate environment for ever".

- BLOOMBERG