FOMC

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said a long period of low interest rates may have contributed to “high and rising” home prices in several countries, cautioning against forgetting the lessons of the 2007-09 housing crisis.

President Donald Trump’s budget director said he expects the Federal Reserve to continue to run an easy monetary policy even as it unwinds the “unprecedented experiment” that swelled its balance sheet to $4.5 trillion.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said she has had no conversations with President Trump about her future as Fed chair.

Federal Reserve officials forged ahead with an interest-rate increase and additional plans to tighten monetary policy despite growing concerns over weak inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise the fed funds rate target 25 basis points to between 1% and 1.25%.

The Federal Reserve is on track to begin unwinding its balance sheet this year or next, although U.S. central bankers are not in a rush to tighten and will take care to ensure their actions don’t trigger disruptions that harm the global economy, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said.

The Federal Reserve should begin shrinking its balance sheet this year and put the reductions “on autopilot,” Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and CEO Esther L. George said Tuesday.

If the economy grows as expected, further rate hikes will be necessary, although they should be gradual, not one every Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and CEO Loretta J. Mester said Monday.

The fed funds rate target is not far from the appropriate level, given the low natural rate of interest, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Monday.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said his outlook hasn’t changed: he still expects three or four rate hikes and the beginning of reducing the Fed balance sheet to begin later this year.

While policy rules have their merits, policymakers should not apply them “mechanically,” and committees offer benefits rules can’t, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said Friday.

The Federal Open Market Committee held rates at 0.75% to 1%, with no dissents, while offering no clues as to what the June meeting holds.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets May 2-3. Here's what you need to know about voters' recent statements.

The primary muni market has been volatile the past month since the election. Now with 2016 almost over, the Federal Open Market Committee is set to meet on Wednesday with a bump in interest rates widely expected, which would be the first since last December. In the latest installment of Muni Minute, we preview the Fed meeting and speculate on what could follow from the FOMC in 2017.