FOMC

With gradual tightening continuing, monetary policy will become slightly restrictive as the neutral rate remains low, Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lael Brainard said Thursday.

Alan Rechtschaffen, portfolio manager at UBS Financial Services, discusses how the Federal Reserve is working to normalize rates amid a shortage of members, and the nominees to fill those empty seats. Gary Siegel hosts.

The U.S. economy expanded moderately through much of April and May, with little indication of overheating, a Federal Reserve survey showed.

The Fed should slow its pace of policy normalization to help re-align price expectations around 2% and maintain the credibility of its inflation target, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said central banks shouldn’t take their independence for granted at a time when trust in public institutions is at “historic lows,” requiring extra effort to explain both their monetary and regulatory policies.

Federal Reserve officials said the economic outlook warranted another interest-rate hike “soon” and signaled they would welcome a modest overshoot of their 2% inflation target, indicating they're in no rush to tighten more aggressively.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester warned against dismantling core reforms that have made U.S. banks better able to withstand a financial crisis.

Bullard says the Fed should be sending signals that the policy rate is near or at neutral.

With only Sen. Elizabeth Warren challenging their thoughts, Fed nominees Richard Clarida and Michelle Bowman are likely to win approval from the Senate Banking Committee.

While the Federal Open Market Committee will raise interest rates a total of three or four times this year, interest rates will remain low by historical standards.