If you are thinking these two topics "the fed" and "drinking the coolaid" are related .... you are mistaken. I just wanted to share what these phrases mean, because a lot of my friends dont seem to understand either.

"The Fed" : The Federal reserve of USA (the central bank of US, the bank of banks in US) is referred to as "The Fed". It is pretty much like the Reserve Bank of India. It regulates the financial institutions and can heavily influence economy by controlling the interest rates. For example, to briefly stir an economy it can decrease the interest rates to encourage more loans/purchases.

"Drinking the kool aid": A phrase that I recently learnt and took me surprise. The origin of the phrase lies in the  1978 cult suicide in Jonestown, Guyana (Also called Jonestown Massacre). The phrase essentially means following someone/something blindly. Some other usages that have been seen in corporate world are "high on kool-aid" etc.

• Guardian's blog