On the surface, the Fed's tool kit appears cut-and-dried. If the nation's central bank is raising the federal funds rate, which ultimately lifts borrowing rates for corporate/personal loans and credit cards, and can have an indirect impact on mortgage rates, it should be viewed as a negative for corporate America. It's akin to the Fed pumping the brakes on the U.S. economy.It can also undertake open market operations, such as purchasing or selling long-term Treasury bonds. Bond prices and yields have an inv ...