The University of Texas Permian Basin Interest Rate Discussion

In recent months (actually, in recent years), no thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 impact last few months, or early 2021, interest rates in the United States (and in most other countries, especially in Europe) have been taken to, and artificially kept at, a very low level…nearly zero or negative!

What exactly do most people mean, when they refer to “interest rates?” (Hint: there are various types of “interest rates” when most people talk about it!) Who actually “sets” the “interest rates?” What are some of the stated reasons for doing so? Have these goals been achieved? Why or why not?

Please answer these questions, briefly, but with some justification.