Fed Officials Remain Uncertain, Hesitant as Middle East Tensions Continue
– Waller Forecasts Possible Rate Cuts but Not until ‘Later This Year’ – Daly ‘Wouldn’t Be Surprised’ If Funds Rate Left Unchanged Through 2026 By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Monetary policy remained firmly on hold in the minds of Federal Reserve officials toward the end of the week, amid a rapidly changing situation in […]
Fed’s Jefferson: FOMC ‘Well-Positioned’ To Face Upside Inflation, Downside Job Risks
–– Williams: FOMC Is Now ‘Really Well-Positioned’ To ‘Wait and See’ — Goolsbee: Fed in ‘Very Uncomfortable Situation; Facing Danger of ‘Stagflation’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Phillip Jefferson said Tuesday evening that monetary policy is “well-positioned” in a war-influenced environment of both upside risks to inflation and downside risks […]
Powell: Fed ‘In Good Place To Wait And See’ How Iran War Affects U.S. Economy
– War Exerts “Upside Risks’ On Inflation, ‘Downside Risks’ On Employment – Must Be ‘Mindful’ To Keep Inflation Expectations ‘Anchored’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave no indication Monday of when or how the Fed might adjust short-term interest rates, saying monetary policy is “in a good place to […]
Fed Vice Chair Jefferson, Others Call For Stand Pat Rate Stance Amid War Worries
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Just over a week after the Federal Reserve’s policymaking Federal Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged, majority thinking on the course of monetary policy is little changed, judging from Fed policymakers’ recent comments. Fed Vice Chairman Phillip Jefferson and other members of the Fed Board of Governors […]
FOMC Leaves Funds Rate Unchanged in 3.50-3.75% Target Range
– Participants Project one 25 BP Rate Cut to 3.25-3.50% By End Of 2026 – Gov. Miran Only Dissent; Favored 25 BP Rate Cut – FOMC: Economic ‘Implications of Developments in Middle East…Uncertain’ – Participants Revise ‘Longer Run” (Neutral) Funds Rate From 3.0% to 3.1% – Powell: Must ‘Wait and See’ War Impact; Balance Upside […]
TRANSCRIPT: Fed’s Powell: Outlook Highly Uncertain for Effect of Higher Gasoline Prices on Consumption
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is a rough transcript of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post Federal Open Market Committee news conference Wednesday: Powell>> Good afternoon, my colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual mand goals for the maximum employment for the benefit of the U.S. people. The employment is stable and […]
FOMC Holds Rates Steady As Expected; Says Iran War Implications ”Uncertain’
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee’s abbreviated policy statement Wednesday made minimal changes to projections for the future while saying simply at the implications of the Iran war are “uncertain.” The text of the statement follows: Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained […]
Fed Officials Still Lean Against Near-Term Rate Cuts Despite Job Losses…
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Until very recently, it had become all but a foregone conclusion that the Federal Reserve would leave short-term interest rates unchanged at its mid-March meeting, and even beyond that there was little indication of a consensus for the resumption of rate cuts until later in the year. In the […]
Most Fed Officials Content to Prolong Pause on Interest Rate Cuts
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – As their mid-March monetary policy meeting draws nearer, Federal Reserve policymakers are seemingly becoming more firmly ensconced in a wait-and-see posture, hoping for more statistical clarification of the progress they’re making toward the Fed’s dual mandate objectives of “maximum employment” and “price stability” before considering further interest rate adjustments. […]
Most Federal Reserve Officials Nowhere Near Ready to Cut Rates Again
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Few Federal Reserve officials have completely foreclosed the possibility of resuming interest rate reductions at some point, but for the foreseeable future, the U.S. central bank appears to be firmly on hold. The Federal Open Market Committee may well get around to cutting the federal funds rate at least […]