FOMC

U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Richard Clarida, a respected economist and Pacific Investment Management Co. global strategic adviser, as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said the central bank will stay on its gradual path of raising interest rates unless inflation moves up by “an appreciable margin.”

While trade policy poses a risk to U.S. economic growth, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said Friday, he would support faster rate hikes if risks are avoided and the economy gets stronger.

Federal Reserve officials leaned toward a slightly faster pace of tightening at their March meeting as their growth outlook and confidence in hitting their inflation target strengthened, according to minutes released Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said trade issues between the U.S. and China won’t get resolved soon and warned of potential damage.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said he’s “sympathetic” to the need to press China to engage in fair trade, yet emphasized it’s too soon to assess the full impact of the U.S.-China trade spat on the economy.

The Federal Reserve should continue gradually raising interest rates if data on consumer prices available by the central bank’s mid-June policy meeting indicate inflation will soon reach the 2% target, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said.

Asset valuations are stretched across a broad set of financial markets and some cryptocurrencies have witnessed “extreme volatility,” Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said, though overall risks to the financial system are still low.

The federal funds rate is near neutral and the Federal Open Market Committee doesn’t need to raise rates much more, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari.

The Federal Reserve is facing a backlash over its lack of diversity in key positions after it emerged this weekend that John Williams, the current president of the San Francisco regional branch, is a front-runner to succeed William Dudley as head of the powerful New York Fed.

Two regional Federal Reserve bank presidents said they favor raising interest rates twice more this year following a hike this week, but were open to shifting their views if the outlook warranted a different policy approach.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he backed the Fed’s rate hike and would vote for others, even though inflation could potentially surpass 2%.

Bill Gross, the billionaire bond manager with Janus Henderson Group Plc, doesn't expect three or four hikes this year.

Primary and secondary activities were an afterthought Wednesday as the municipal market focused on the interest rate announcement from the Federal Reserve Board.

In his first press conference as chair following a Federal Open Market Committee Jerome Powell stressed that “one decision” was made at the meeting: raising rates 25 basis points to a 1.5% to 1.75% target range.

The Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate target to a 1.50% to 1.75% range, as expected, while the Summary of Economic Projections still calls for three hikes this year.

The municipal market concentrated on a Federal Reserve Board 25 basis-point interest rate hike, while keeping an eye on falling snow.

The municipal market completed a few competitive deals and one notable negotiated sale on Tuesday, while awaiting the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The municipal market and its participants got a few competitive deals, but the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting looms large.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said higher interest rates will be needed to keep the U.S. economy from overheating.