Monetary policy

Federal Reserve officials are getting their stories straight on the U.S. economy.

If the economy moves as expected, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker expects one rate hike this year and one next year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy is “strong” though its benefits haven’t been felt evenly across the country.

With inflation expectations eclipsing economic slack in driving inflation, policymakers will need to keep expectations in line to avoid “large swings in inflation,” according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said the U.S. economy may be heading into a recession at a time when the Federal Reserve doesn’t have the firepower to properly combat a slump.

The Federal Open Market Committee needs to be careful because the market expects low inflation and the yield curve remains quite flat, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullardsaid late Thursday.

Negative interest rates could be harmful for U.S. banks, limiting their usefulness as an emergency tool in an economic downturn, said Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan.

President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said the White House currently is interviewing candidates to fill open seats on the Federal Reserve Board but said there’s no hurry to make a nomination.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank must rely on incoming economic data to determine if its next policy move will be up or down.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave a brief but positive assessment of the economy at an event organized for educators.