VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Federal Reserve officials on Thursday were again at public odds over when the U.S. central bank should start raising rates, underscoring the difficult task ahead for Fed Chair Janet Yellen as she tries to build consensus for a rate hike sometime later this year.

Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, has agreed to become a senior adviser to Citadel Investment Group, a $25 billion hedge fund founded by billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

U.S. industrial output posted its biggest drop in more than 2-1/2 years in March in part as oil and gas well drilling plummeted, highlighting the negative impact of lower crude prices and a strong dollar on the economy.

Retail sales rose in March for the first time since November as consumers stepped up purchases of automobiles and other goods, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter was temporary.

Federal Reserve policymakers should not read too much into financial market prices to glean the views of investors on interest rates or inflation because prices are hard to decipher, according to research released Monday by the San Francisco Fed.

Companies struggled in China and much of the rest of Asia in March, suggesting central banks may have to resort to more stimulus, just as factories in the euro zone begin to reap rewards from ultra-easy policy there.

European stock markets made solid starts to the second quarter on Wednesday as data pointing to a gradual recovery in the euro zone economy gave investors fresh impetus after their blowout first few months of the year.

The Federal Reserve will have a "strong" case to hike U.S. interest rates in June, a hawkish Fed official said on Tuesday, dismissing recently weak economic data as transitory and perhaps due to unseasonable weather.

Now may be a good time to start normalizing U.S. monetary policy, Federal Reserve policymaker James Bullard said on Thursday.

A forecast model from the Federal Reserve of Atlanta on Wednesday suggested the U.S. economy is barely growing in the first quarter following an unexpectedly steep 1.4 percent drop in durable goods orders in February.

European shares dipped on Wednesday but held near multi-year highs and the euro rose against the dollar after a survey showed the German business climate improving.

The forward guidance issued by the Federal Reserve should gradually evolve back to its "normal" role of communicating the thinking behind policy moves, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told a bankers' conference in Paris on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures climbed on Friday after a one-day pullback as investors were reassured by a reform pledge by Greece to its EU creditors that could help avert a cash crunch.

World shares rose back towards all-time highs and a slump then jump in the dollar triggered wild moves in currency markets on Thursday, as investors priced in a later start and a slower pace for future U.S. rate rises.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday moved a step closer to hiking rates for the first time since 2006, but downgraded its economic growth and inflation projections, signaling it is in no rush to push borrowing costs to more normal levels.