-
Analysis and conversation with Mustafa Chowdhury of Deutsche Bank talking about inflation and/or if Fed is risking serious inflation by pumping trillion dollars. (Bloomberg News)
-
Economists say the unanimous FOMC decision to cut the Federal funds target rate by 50 basis points came as no surprise. Many said the statement is particularly dovish and points to further rate cuts come December 16. The accompanying statement said economic activity had decreased markedly from a decline...
-
The most hawkish voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee said on Thursday that it's unclear whether slow growth will moderate inflation into 2009, and said there are even odds that inflation will accelerate from its current level. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said it is "very...
-
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart welcomed the recent rise in the U.S. dollar, but said home prices in the U.S. could fall another 10-15%. Following a speech at an Economic Outlook Conference in Atlanta Wednesday, Lockhart said " housing prices will continue to decline," perhaps by as much as 15...
-
The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that it would hold the Fed funds target rate at 2.00%, as was widely expected. The accompanying statement was balanced between a concern for slowing growth and elevated inflation levels. In the growth paragraph, the FOMC said "economic activity expanded in the second...
-
A hawkish testimony and mostly unchanged rhetoric are expected from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday, as the head of the U.S. central bank delivers the first of a two-day semiannual testimony to congress. "In the US, all eyes will be on Ben Bernanke as he appears before Congress on Tuesday to give...
-
Elevated food prices are caused by increased global demand that shows no signs of letting up, and monetary policy should stop excluding food prices and begin to focus on total , rather than core, inflation, wrote a former official from the Federal Reserve. Karen H. Johnson, former director of the Division...
-
Speaking at a Harvard commencement address, Bernanke said overall inflation is significantly higher than he would like, but less than the 1970s-style stagflation . The overall inflation rate has averaged about 3.5% over the past four quarters, significantly higher than we would like but much less than...
-
The release of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) March 31-April 30 minutes show seven district banks had voted for no change in the discount rate in an effort to slow inflation. The Boston Fed was the lone bank to vote for a half-point cut in the discount rate. Four banks had requested a 25bp...
-
Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the chance of a recession in the United States was above 50% but that probability was pulling back somewhat. Greenspan also said it was too soon to tell whether the worst of the financial crisis was over...
-
Kevin Warsh, a voting member of the Federal Reserve Board, signalled concerns about inflation and said fellow Fed members need to be cautious in cutting rates . Warsh said inflation has been "elevated for some time" and the Fed should resist the urge to cut rates even if the economy slows. "Inflation...
-
Inflation is not yet out of control in the United States, according to former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan , speaking via satellite link to a conference in Athens, Greece. Nevertheless, the markets are moving towards a more inflation-prone environment, added the retired central banker. Greenspan also...
-
Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher (voter) speaking at the Hilton Midland Plaza in Texas said that the current economic slowdown will be prolonged, but not very deep. Fisher warned that the Federal Reserve is in a difficult situation trying to repair the financial system , and that inflation...
-
Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig (non-voter) says that inflation is becoming embedded in the economy and that may compel a significant interest rate hike . In a speech in Denver, Colorado, Hoeing that consumers are showing an "inflation psychology to an extent that I have not since the 1970s and...