The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday repeated its promise to leave interest rates on hold until at least late 2014 but offered few clues into whether it might offer additional stimulus later this year.
Global stocks rallied on Monday while the dollar retreated after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that in order to reduce unemployment, easy monetary policy should stay in place. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at its highest level since May 2008.
All but four of 19 major United States banks got a green light yesterday to boost dividends and buy back shares after the Federal Reserve declared them strong enough to survive another serious recession.
Testifying Wednesday before the US House Committee on Financial Services, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that 'critical fiscal and financial challenges remain for the Euro zone.'
The US economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer and business spending, which could help to allay fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.
The growth of US government debt relative to GDP is clearly unsustainable, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a congressional testimony.
The US Supreme Court has asked President Barack Obama's administration for its views of a ruling that unfroze 105 million dollars of Argentina's central bank deposits in a setback for two US investment funds that sought to seize the money to satisfy their claims from Argentina’s debt default a decade ago.
US consumer prices were flat in November as Americans paid less for cars and gasoline, while the 12-month inflation reading fell for the second straight month, which could give the Federal Reserve more room to help a still-weak economy.
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday made no changes to its interest rate policy but left the door open for further monetary easing next year depending on the impact of strains in the global financial markets (Europe’s debt problems).
The US Federal Reserve announced Wednesday after a two-day meeting to keep interest rates on hold and maintain its bond buying programs. The decision was entirely as expected by markets and economists.