FOMC

Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said he is among policy makers estimating that the central bank will have to raise interest rates next year.

The economy seems to be gathering steam, though it is still far from fully recovering from the damage wrought by the pandemic, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said.

“Our guidance suggests we would be raising rates were inflation to spike past our targets,” Barkin said.

The Fed remains dovish, although it raised inflation projections and lowered expected unemployment rates, but most participants still see rates at the zero lower bound in 2023.

A repricing of Illinois GOs saw the bonds bumped by 12 to 20 basis points from Tuesday's preliminary pricing wires and 17 to 25 basis points from Monday's price talk.

Inflows return, stimulus set, new deals on fire — the municipal market reaped all the benefits. Initial jobless claims dropped more than expected in the week, as reopening continued slowly, but the total remains higher than any week before the COVID crisis hit.

Hank Smith, head of Investment Strategy at Haverford Trust, discusses the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the coronavirus pandemic, inflation, and economic growth. He says, “at some point the Fed will have to acknowledge the economy may really take off.” Gary Siegel hosts. (Taped March 2. 26 minutes)

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said it will take “some time” to meet the conditions laid out by the U.S. central bank for reducing the pace of its massive bond purchases, while noting recent bond market volatility.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin played down recent Treasury market volatility, in remarks that reinforce the message that the U.S. central bank is not yet troubled by the increase in yields.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Manulife Investment Management Global Chief Economist & Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy Frances Donald discusses the COVID pandemic, inflation, how the markets may be misreading the Fed, why economic indicators may not be telling economists what they need to know, ESG and green spending, and the economy. Gary Siegel hosts. (35 minutes)