The monetary policy body on Wednesday left its key interest rate unchanged and projected no rate hikes in 2019, reflecting a dimmer view of the economy as growth weakens in the United States and abroad.
The message the Federal Reserve is poised to send when its latest policy meeting ends this week is a soothing one. It reflects an abrupt shift in tone since the start of the year.
In delivering the Fed’s semiannual monetary report to Congress, Powell said the Fed will be “patient” in determining when to boost its benchmark policy rate in light of the various “crosscurrents and conflicting signals.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that he doesn’t see signs of an economic downturn on the horizon.
Investors cheered the Fed's message that it foresees no need to raise borrowing rates anytime soon even while the economy remains on firm footing.
Chairman Jerome Powell will begin a new era of communications by holding a news conference after each of the Fed's eight meetings every year, up from four news conferences a year.
With pressures on the U.S. economy rising, the Federal Reserve has been signaling that it’s in no hurry to resume raising rates after having done so four times in 2018.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank can be patient as it assesses risks to a U.S. economy and will adjust policy quickly if needed.
President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve, commenting publicly on the central bank for the first time following last week’s interest-rate hike and reports he has discussed firing Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Fed's updated forecast projects just two rate hikes next year, down from three that monetary policy body had predicted in September.
The president fired off two tweets this week objecting to a rate hike. In one of them, he called it “incredible” that the Fed would consider raising rates again when “the outside world is blowing up around us.”
On Wednesday, the Fed is set to announce its fourth rate hike of the year. But after this week, no one is sure what it will do. Neither, most likely, is the Fed itself.
The report, known as the beige book, found that optimism about the future had waned somewhat, with business contacts citing “increased uncertainty.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cast a bright picture of the U.S. economy Wednesday and appeared to suggest that the Fed might consider a pause in its interest rate hikes next year, igniting a rally on Wall Street.
The Federal Reserve portrayed the economy as robust, with healthy job growth, low unemployment, solid consumer spending and inflation near its 2 percent target.
With the economy strong, wages rising and unemployment at a near-five-decade low, the Federal Reserve remains on track to keep raising interest rates — just not this week.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting show that a few participants thought the Fed’s key rate would need to “become modestly restrictive for a time” to prevent inflation from climbing too high.
President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve over the past 24 hours as markets plunged, saying the central bank was “going loco” with too many interest hikes.
President Donald Trump slammed the Federal Reserve as “crazy” for its interest-rate increases this year in comments hours after the worst U.S. stock market sell-off since February.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lifted its short-term rate for the eighth time since late 2015, and the Fed indicated that it expects to continue gradual increases.
