Thomas MuchaJanuary 11, 2013 11:00

The Fed is more profitable than Apple and Exxon. Combined.

How economic crisis can sometimes be good for the bottom line.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, October 4, 2011. Bernanke on Tuesday said the United States may face yet more slow jobs growth, as he warned short-term budget cuts and financial turmoil could further threaten the economy. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images/Getty Images)

The key to good business writing is the frame.

In other words, how do you take arcane figures and put them into an easy-to-understand context that's smart, useful and memorable?

Our friends at Quartz nailed that task today, with a post titled "The US Fed had a greater profit than Apple and Exxon combined last year."

Catchy headline: check. Interesting topic: check.

The skinny?

The Federal Reserve turned a profit last year of $89 billion dollars, its best year in history.

As Quartz points out, the combined profits of Apple and Exxon — America's two most profitable companies — top a little more than $82 billion.

So how did the Fed do it?

Economic crisis, of course.