Gary Siegel

Fed policy needs to remain accommodative since it has failed to achieve its dual mandate, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President and Chief Executive Officer Eric S. Rosengren said Tuesday.

Although the Federal Open Market Committee has set specific thresholds for when it will raise interest rates, "the majority of the Committee still believes that the 'liftoff' date for the FOMC's policy rate will be in 2015 or later," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said Monday.

The Fed will need to buy mortgage-backed securities and longer-term Treasury securities "well into the second half of 2013," as uncertainty continues to hold back the recovery, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO John C. Williams said Monday.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.075% high rate, up from 0.065% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.105% high rate, unchanged from 0.105% the week before.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $35 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

While inflation should be moderate in the near-term, the length and magnitude of monetary policy accommodation mean risks for inflation in the medium and long term, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and Chief Executive Officer Charles I. Plosser.

While monetary policy has become more accommodative than it was six months ago, GDP should grow faster than potential for the next two years, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Thursday.

Keeping interest rates near zero for too long may result in "financial imbalances and instability" that increase rather than decrease unemployment, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and Chief Executive Officer Esther L. George.

The Treasury Department Thursday auctioned $13 billion of 29-year 10-month bonds with a 2 3/4% coupon at a 3.070% high yield, a price of 93.772210.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $32 billion 91-day bills and $28 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

The European Central Bank announced its Governing Council held interest rates at its latest monetary policy meeting Thursday.

The Treasury Department auctioned $21 billion of 9-year 10-month notes with a 1 5/8% coupon at a 1.863% high yield, a price of 97.869127.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $32 billion of three-year notes with a 3/8% coupon at a 0.385% yield, a price of 99.970201.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $40 billion of four-week bills at a 0.055% high yield, a price of 99.995722.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $25 billion of 364-day bills at a 0.140% high yield, a price of 99.858444.

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form increased about $601 million in December to a total of $193.868 billion, the Bureau of the Public Debt reported Monday.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were lower, as the three-months incurred a 0.065% high rate, down from 0.075% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.105% high rate, off from 0.120% the week before.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $40 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index climbed to 109.02 in December from an upwardly revised 108.19 in November.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a slightly faster pace in December as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 56.1 in the month, compared to 54.7 in November, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Friday.