Monetary policy

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.

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.

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

The Federal Open Market Committee meets this week, and while a rate hike is widely expected, and priced in, the municipal market will look to the Summary of Economic Projections for the future path of rates.

The municipal bond market will focus more on the Summary of Economic Projections and the press conference, with a rate hike assumed.

Directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said they had narrowed their search for the bank’s next president to a “handful of final candidates,” without naming any.

The Federal Reserve’s independence and monetary-policy approach had a White House ally in Gary Cohn. His successor Larry Kudlow may be a different story.