Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
Fed’s Powell sees potential for ‘new headwinds’ in Brexit
Governor says global risks to US outlook have increased in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the EU
Yellen says July hike ‘not impossible’ as Fed holds
Fed keeps policy unchanged as widely anticipated; expected path of interest rate hikes becomes more gradual while the long-run level is revised down again
June hike an option but Fed officials split on prospect
Minutes from FOMC meeting in April show “most” participants happy to hike next month if incoming data continues to improve, but some suspect gains may not come fast enough
Book notes: The power and independence of the Federal Reserve, by Peter Conti-Brown
Conti-Brown offers a call to action to fix the legitimacy of the Federal Reserve System, which is looking increasingly dated
Fed holds and drops reference to global risks
Federal Open Market Committee holds federal funds rate as widely expected; suggests growth in economic activity has slowed but concerns about global developments have eased
Fed should stay the course with gradual rate rises – Lacker
The Federal Open Market Committee should continue raising rates, suggests Richmond Fed president; oil price falls and financial markets volatility both stabilising, Lacker argues
Data dependence catching on, says San Fran Fed president
Market participants have become more responsive to economic news since 2015 in both the US and UK, research by Benjamin Pyle and John Williams finds
Some Fed officials concerned April hike would ‘signal a sense of urgency’
Minutes from March meeting reveal caution around prospect of a hike this month, given prevailing headwinds and risks; next meeting on April 26–27
Chicago and Cleveland Fed presidents back gradual path for rate increases
Charles Evans is “comfortable” with tightening implied by latest round of dot plots; he and Loretta Mester spell out outlooks for growth and inflation and risks surrounding them
Senate committee chair urged to clear backlog of nominees
Nominees to Federal Reserve board of governors among those waiting to learn fate; delay reportedly stems from disagreement over another key Fed post
FOMC members agree uncertainty over US prospects has ‘greatly increased’
Global uncertainty and financial market volatility increases downside risk for US economy, FOMC members say; committee members express different views over use of fan charts in projections
Bullard challenges ‘backward-looking’ language in Fed statement on goals
James Bullard reveals he disagreed with an element of the Fed’s statement on longer-run goals, believing it failed to capture the importance of future expectations to inflation targeting
Esther George supports further rate rises unless outlook ‘significantly shifts’
Kansas City Fed president supports further rate rises unless economic outlook changes notably; normalisation justified by job increases and economic growth, she argues
Fischer spells out uncertainty surrounding impact of global volatility
Fischer says ‘modest overshoot’ of the longer-run unemployment rate would be appropriate, ahead of this month’s jobs data; sees benefit in maintaining balance sheet ‘for a time’
US Fed committee keeps close eye on global developments
Federal Open Market Committee watching impact of global events on risks to its economic outlook; notes mixed developments as it holds interest rate target
Some FOMC members still see ‘considerable’ risks to inflation forecasts
The Federal Reserve’s decision to increase the federal funds rate target was a ‘close call’ in the view of ‘some’ FOMC members; mixed views among governors and presidents on inflation outlook
Cleveland Fed president ‘fully supported’ rate hike
Loretta Mester expresses support for FOMC’s decision in December, but notes greater importance of policy path than date of lift-off for macroeconomic performance
Yellen warns not to 'overblow' liftoff as Federal Reserve raises rates
Federal Open Market Committee will keep close eye on ‘actual and expected progress’ toward 2% inflation, after embarking on first tightening cycle since 2006 with 25bp hike
Yellen signals growing confidence ahead of Fed decision
Fed chair expects some key headwinds to inflation to diminish next year; continued improvements in labour market and stable expectations help ‘bolster’ her confidence in a return to target
‘Gradual and low’ may be new normal for Fed, Brainard says
Lael Brainard says lower neutral interest rates and stubborn inflation make it likely the federal funds rate will need to be tightened ‘more gradually and to a lower level’ than in the past
Trinidad and Tobago aims to stay a step ahead of the Fed
Jwala Rambarran tells Central Banking the central bank must remain ‘ahead of the curve’ and ensure a ‘strong enough’ rate differential between assets denominated in local and US currency
Shift in FOMC language intended to show December hike ‘may well become appropriate’
Minutes from October meeting reveal thinking behind change in language; a ‘couple’ of members raised concerns the change could be misinterpreted as a stronger signal than it was
Dallas Fed’s Kaplan expects policy to ‘remain accommodative for some time’
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas president says FOMC was ‘prudent’ to wait for more data in past few months; it is ‘probable’ rates will be lifted gradually
Turkish paper finds Fed staff forecasts superior to rivals
Working paper finds forecasts in the ‘Greenbook’ were consistently more accurate than their commercial equivalents between 1974 and 2009