FOMC

“It’s too early to talk about changing monetary policy ... We want to stay with our very easy monetary policy while we are still in the pandemic tunnel.” Bullard said Monday.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said policy makers will await evidence on whether they’re reaching their goals on price stability and employment before adjusting monetary policy.

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka called on President Joe Biden to use a current vacancy on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors to bring greater diversity to the central bank.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said she’s “bullish” on the rebound of the U.S. economy, but there is still a long way before the recovery is complete and will wait for the data to show it.

The Investment Company Institute reported another week of inflows, $800-plus million, as participants focus on that part of the market as an indicator of how munis will fare during tax season.

Jack Janasiewicz, senior vice president, portfolio manager and portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, discusses inflation and why there is disagreement on whether it will become an issue this year. He talks about how stimulus money and the employment situation factor in. Gary Siegel hosts. (Taped March 9 / 30 minutes).

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said prices would rise this year as the pandemic recedes and Americans are able to go out and spend, but he played down the risk that this would spur unwanted inflation.

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)

The Federal Reserve is nowhere near to pulling back on its support for the pandemic-damaged U.S. economy, Chairman Jerome Powell signaled at his testimony before Congress on Tuesday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appear wary of signs of froth in financial markets, even as they press ahead with economic stimulus measures that are elevating the euphoria.

Rising Treasury yields are a sign of optimism in the economic recovery, said a senior Federal Reserve official Friday, signaling no inclination from the central bank to take steps to halt the shift.