Tag: Federal Reserve

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 07:22 UTC

  US households debt at new record high and manageable, but students loans remain “stubbornly high”

  

  The United States debt level reached a record high this year, surpassing the peak touched just as the worst of the recession was taking hold in 2008, and marking a milestone for households that now lean less on mortgages and more on auto and student loans

• Thursday, May 4th 2017 - 05:54 UTC

  Fed says recent slowdown of US economy growth is temporary; leaves benchmark rate unchanged

  

  The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it held its benchmark interest rate after a two-day policy meeting, as had widely been expected. And it added that the recent showdown in US growth is likely temporary.

• Saturday, April 15th 2017 - 09:37 UTC

  Trump backtracks: China is not a currency manipulator, and praises Janet Yellen

  

  President Donald Trump has said his administration will not label China a currency manipulator, rowing back on a campaign promise. The US president also left open the possibility of re-nominating Janet Yellen as the head of the Federal Reserve, despite having criticized her.

• Thursday, March 16th 2017 - 12:06 UTC

  Fed raises interest rate by a quarter of a point: second time in three months

  

  U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the second time in three months, a move spurred by steady economic growth, strong job gains and confidence that inflation is rising to the central bank's target. The decision to lift the target overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75% to 1.0% marked a convincing step in the Fed's effort to return monetary policy to a more normal footing.

• Monday, March 13th 2017 - 14:40 UTC

  Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rate on Wednesday

  

  Robust hiring by United States employers in President Donald Trump's first full month in power, along with rising wages, have economists tipping a faster-than-anticipated cycle of interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve, beginning this week.

• Monday, March 6th 2017 - 10:37 UTC

  Fed says rate hike in March would be “appropriate” if US economy evolves as expected

  

  Federal Reserve chair Janet L. Yellen said a March rate hike would be “appropriate” if the economy continues to evolve as expected, signaling that the central bank will likely raise its benchmark interest rate sooner than many economists and investors had expected just a few weeks ago.

• Friday, March 3rd 2017 - 13:15 UTC

  Firms less optimistic waiting for Trump´s fiscal policies, says Fed´s Beige Book

  

  The U.S. economy expanded at a modest-to-moderate pace from early January through mid-February, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, although firms were less optimistic amid some uncertainty about the Trump administration's fiscal policies.

• Saturday, December 3rd 2016 - 07:32 UTC

  US unemployment falls to nine-year low in November, 4.6%, but earnings slowdown

  

  United States unemployment rate fell to a nine-year low in November, adding to expectations that US interest rates will rise later this month. Figures from the Labor Department showed the US economy created 178,000 jobs in November, while the jobless rate fell to 4.6% from 4.9% in October.

• Friday, November 18th 2016 - 09:15 UTC

  Yellen intends to remain her four-year term; anticipates rate increase “relatively soon”

  

  The United States Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen told Congress on Thursday that she is not stepping down. Her statement follows on strong attacks during the campaign from president elect Donald Trump who claimed the Fed was favoring president Barack Obama and candidate Hillary Clinton with its low interest rate policy.

• Thursday, November 3rd 2016 - 10:20 UTC

  Big Danger at the Lower Bound

  

  By Kenneth Rogoff
  
  Markets nowadays are fixated on how high the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the next 12 months. This is dangerously shortsighted: the real concern ought to be how far it could cut rates in the next deep recession. Given that the Fed may struggle just to get its base interest rate up to 2% over the coming year, there will be very little room to cut if a recession hits.