The U.S. central bank should not prematurely withdraw pandemic support for the U.S. economy just because some people are getting rich in the stock market, said San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee repeated earlier this week that it would continue to make asset purchases of at least $120 billion every month until “substantial further progress” had been made toward its employment and inflation goals.

Fed chair says it's unlikely there will be "troubling inflation" any time soon, and rates will stay low and asset purchases will continue at current levels. ICI reports another $3.24 billion of inflows as munis follow UST to lower yields.

After a flurry of new muni programs created in response to the pandemic, the Federal Reserve is looking to staff up.

While no FOMC action on monetary policy is expected, markets are watching for how the Federal Reserve partners with the Biden administration and how it reacts to the 10-year Treasury yield rising from 0.52% on Aug. 4 to 1.15% on Jan. 14.

Robin Marshall, director of fixed income research at FTSE Russell, talks about what investors should be paying attention to during the coming year. He looks at inflation prospects, possible Central Bank actions and the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chip Barnett hosts. (15 minutes)

Muni yields have been in a nine-basis point range since the beginning of the year while UST yields have fluctuated more than 20 basis points. With so little supply, muni credit spreads continue to compress.

Fed’s Rosengren calls Biden stimulus plan big yet ‘appropriate’

KC Mathews, executive vice president & chief investment officer at UMB Bank, discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the economy and what he expects going forward. He speaks about what the incoming Biden administration and the Democrats' control of Congress will mean for the economy; and the Federal Reserve's stance and role in recovery. Gary Siegel hosts. (Recorded Jan. 7; 28 minutes)

Municipal bonds continue to ignore UST and ICI reports $2.67 billion of inflows. While CPI should stay soft through the first quarter, expectations for future inflation should be considered.

It’s premature to discuss reducing the amount of monetary-policy support for the U.S. economy while the pandemic is still raging, said Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard.

Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard said regulators are seeking to "understand the potential benefits and risks" from utilizing artificial intelligence in the financial services sector.

Federal Reserve officials said that more fiscal support and the mass distribution of vaccines could lead to a strong U.S. economic recovery in the second half, setting the stage for a discussion of potential tapering of bond buying before year’s end.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin says the U.S. could face a bumpy first six months but will be well supported by the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and fiscal stimulus later in the year.

Transcripts of the Federal Reserve’s 2015 policy meetings show that then-Fed Chair Janet Yellen acknowledged that the Fed should sacrifice potential job gains in order to cut off the possibility of higher inflation.

Federal Reserve officials shouldn’t intervene to slow rising bond yields because that is expected to happen as the U.S. economy recovers, said Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan.

The Federal Reserve has returned about $42 billion to the U.S. Treasury, and will soon transfer another $20 billion in excess funds connected to emergency lending facilities that stopped offering new loans last month.

It was inevitable that muni yields would need to rise somewhat as the UST 10-year broke above 1%, however participants said the supply/demand imbalance will keep munis from rising as quickly as Treasuries. More than $1 billion inflows reported.

The top 20 more than doubled the gains of their fixed-income industry peers.

Federal Reserve officials unanimously backed holding the pace of asset purchases steady when they met last month.