We like to think that when we deposit a dollar at the bank, it goes into a big vault and we can pull out that same dollar at any time. But that¿s not how the U.S. banking system works. Banks take that money and invest it to make money themselves, so cash gets spread around. This, naturally, leads to a big risk: What happens if those investments go sour? Well, you¿d be out of luck. You can¿t get your dollar back.

The Federal Reserve doesn¿t like that scenario, so it prohibits banks from putting all the cash it has on deposit on the line. In fact, the Fed forces banks to keep a portion of their assets at the Federal Reserve itself, to make sure that some of your assets won¿t get squandered if the bank¿s bets go south. These are called ¿reserves,¿ (hence, Federal Reserve. Got it? Good), and usually amount to 10% of the total cash kept in checking accounts.

These reserves are never exactly 10%, and banks like to keep a little extra in reserve ¿ not, as you might think, to make you more comfortable that they¿re in good financial shape, but rather so they can take that excess and lend it to other banks and make money off it. (They¿re banks, they can¿t help themselves.) The rate at which they make these loans is called the Federal Funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve¿s Federal Open Market Committee.

When you hear people chattering about how the Fed cut or hiked interest rates, this is what they¿re talking about: the interest rate banks can charge for lending money from their reserves. This begs the question: If these are essentially loans between banks, why is the Fed Funds rate so important for the rest of the economy?

Well, simply put, because loans make the financial world go round. Bank A lends Bank B $10,000 at a Fed Funds rate of 5%. Bank B then lends out $10,000 to a small business at 7%. The small business then takes that money and expands the business and hires new workers. Now someone is employed, Bank B has made interest off the loan, and Bank A is the richer for making it all happen. It¿s perhaps overly simplistic, but you get the idea. When you want the economy to thrive, you make lending cheaper.

Of course, sometimes you don¿t want the economy to thrive. In fact, you might want it to cool down, mostly to avoid money flooding the system and causing inflation. In that case, the Fed raises interest rates, making it difficult to lend or borrow.

Home / Markets / Industries / Energy

Monday, August 18, 2008

Key Energy Services Provides July Activity Data

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Comtex

HOUSTON, Aug 18, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----

 Key Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: KEG) announced today its rig and trucking hours for the month of July 2008. For the
   month ending July 31, 2008 June 30, 2008 July 31, 2007 Working Days 22 21 21 Rig Hours 248,039 235,106 198,503 Trucking Hours
   211,006 201,340 186,119

The Company calculates working days as total weekdays for the month less any Company holidays that occur that month. For the month of August 2008, there are 21 working days.

Key Energy Services, Inc. is the world's largest rig-based well service company. The Company provides oilfield services including well servicing, pressure pumping, fishing and rental tools, electric wireline and other oilfield services. The Company has operations in all major onshore oil and gas producing regions of the continental United States and internationally in Argentina and Mexico.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company, the Company's industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Whenever possible, the Company has identified these "forward-looking statements" by words such as "expects," "believes," "anticipates" and similar phrases. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to: risks affecting activity levels for rig and trucking hours including weather-related risks, the impact of new rigs coming into the market and the risk that commodity prices decline or the risk that capital budgets from the Company's customers decrease; risks that the Company will be unable to complete its new capital investment plan, including that it will be unable to identify or complete acquisitions and that it will be unable to integrate acquired operations; risks affecting the ability of the Company to maintain or improve operations; and general economic conditions. Readers should also refer to the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed February 29, 2008 for a discussion of risks to which the Company is subject. Because such statements involve risks and uncertainties, the actual results and performance of the Company may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by law, the Company also disclaims any obligation to update its view of any such risks or uncertainties or to announce publicly the result of any revisions to the forward-looking statements made here; however, readers should review carefully reports or documents the Company files periodically with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: Bill Austin

(713) 651-4300

SOURCE Key Energy Services, Inc.

http://www.keyenergy.com

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