Federal Reserve officials believed it would be premature to hike interest rates in June even though most felt the U.S. economy was set to rebound from a dismal start to the year, according to minutes from their April policy meeting released on Wednesday.
Janet Yellen
The Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates this year, forged over months of strong jobs growth and a seemingly durable expansion, now faces an economy that no longer follows the script and may push the “liftoff” far into the future.
Americans are becoming more apt to quit their jobs, a government report showed on Tuesday, a sign that a stronger labor market and falling unemployment rate could result in healthier wage growth and inflation.
World financial markets were unsettled again on Thursday as a week-long sell-off in benchmark government bonds, stocks and the dollar, and a race up in oil prices, was compounded by UK election uncertainty.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday said high equity valuations could pose potential dangers but that stability risks across the U.S. financial system remained in check.
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.
The timing of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike, which would be its first in nearly a decade, is unclear and for now policymakers must watch that the U.S. economy's surprising recent weakness does not signal a more substantial slowdown, a top Fed official said on Monday.
The euro fell on Monday, hurt by uncertainty over whether Greece and its international creditors will be able to strike a deal that will help Athens secure funding before it runs out of money by April 20.
Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with China stocks nearing a seven-year peak on hopes for more infrastructure spending and policy stimulus, while oil prices suffered further from excess supply.
The state of the U.S. labor market in March will consume economists and investors in the week leading up to Easter, adding to the seesaw debate over when the Federal Reserve will spring its first interest rate hike.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that the U.S. central bank will likely start raising borrowing costs later this year, even before inflation and wages have returned to health, but emphasized the return to normal interest rates will be gradual.
Asian stocks were mixed on Friday and the dollar rebounded as rising tensions in the Middle East clouded the investment outlook.
The dollar fought back across the board on Thursday after posting its biggest daily fall in 18 months in the wake of a much more cautious Federal Reserve statement on interest rates than expected.
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.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to lay the groundwork for its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade, as it continues to weigh whether the U.S. recovery can hold up against collapsing oil prices and a soaring dollar.
Subscribe to VCpost newsletter
Most Popular
- Nestle Cuts Sales Forecast as Shoppers Reject Price Hikes
- Social Security Payments Worth Over $4,800 To Go Out This Week; Here’s When You’ll Get Yours
- US Could See Another ‘Great Resignation’ as 3 in 10 Workers Plan To Quit in 2024: Survey
- Uber, Lyft Drivers Remain as Contractors After California Supreme Court Upheld Proposition 22
- Maersk Agrees to Settlement with US Labor Department After Firing Whistleblower
- Walmart Eyes $200 Million Investment in Autonomous Forklifts
- Delta’s CEO Flew to Paris for the Olympics While His Company Is Under Federal Investigation: Report
- Murdoch Empire Family Feud Could Upend the Media Industry, Possibly End Fox News