United States lawmakers are pressing the Federal Reserve to act more forcefully, and quickly, to limit banks’ involvement in the commodities business, which has been blamed for inflating prices on everyday items like electricity and canned beverages.
US President Barack Obama Friday nominated former Israeli central bank governor and renowned economist Stanley Fischer as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, completing a shakeup of the board's leadership.
Federal Reserve members mostly agreed about a reduction in the central bank's stimulus efforts in December, meeting minutes released Wednesday reveal. The central bank announced a $10bn a month reduction in its bond buying program at the end of its December meeting.
Janet Yellen, a key force behind the Federal Reserve's unprecedented and controversial efforts to boost the US economy, was confirmed on Monday by the Senate to lead the central bank just as it begins to unwind that stimulus.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will start scaling back its monthly bond-buying program as early as next month, but the reduction will be gradual. The Federal Reserve has been buying 85 billion dollars a month in government bonds in an effort to keep interest rates low and boost economic growth.
On the same day the Federal Reserve announced tapering of stimulus, the US Senate passed a two-year budget deal to ease automatic spending cuts and reduce the risk of a government shutdown, but fights were already breaking out over how to implement the budget pact
All five US financial regulators have approved the Volcker rule, designed to restrict the finance industry in the wake of the 2008-09 financial collapse. Named after former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, it bans banks from using their own funds for trading activities and it is considered the centerpiece of the 2010 banking reform legislation known as Dodd-Frank.Banks will have until 21 July 2015 to comply with the rules.
Global equity markets surged and the dollar rose against the Yen after stronger-than-expected US jobs data gave investors confidence the economy is strong enough to withstand an expected reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus.
The US Federal Reserve officials said they plan to begin trimming the central bank's stimulus efforts in the coming months. They believe that the US recovery is strengthening, according to minutes their October meeting.
The United States Senate Banking Committee approved on Thursday Janet Yellen's nomination to become the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, sending it to the full Senate for a final vote. If she is confirmed, as is widely expected, the current No. 2 at the central bank will replace its chairman, Ben Bernanke, when his term expires on January 31, making her the most powerful woman in world finance.