Monetary policy

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.

With the economy recovering, now is the time to reflect on monetary policy framework and strategy and seriously consider flexible price-level targeting, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said Friday.

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 Reserve expectations of three rate hikes this year still stand, Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said in a televised interview Friday.

The next Fed rate hike does not matter as much as fiscal policy, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said Friday.

Three rate hikes remain “a good baseline,” although depending on the economy it may be more or less, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said in a televised interview Thursday.

Although the U.S. has recovered nicely from the great recession, the economic growth rate must rise, Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome H. Powell said Thursday.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer painted a picture of a brightening global economy that can better manage the spillover of gradual monetary tightening in the U.S.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet will probably continue to be used as a monetary policy tool in the future, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said.

Traders are pulling back from bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in June as inflation expectations crumble.

President Donald Trump hinted for the first time that he’s open to keeping Janet Yellen at the helm of the Federal Reserve. For markets trying to predict the future of monetary policy, that’s a change of heart that suggests continuity during an era of disruption in Washington.

Investors have reacted to the Federal Reserve’s plan to shrink the balance sheet so far in exactly the opposite way that policy makers had feared.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said it may take the U.S. central bank around five years to shrink its balance sheet to a more normal size once that process gets underway.

Most Federal Reserve officials said they backed a policy change that would begin shrinking the central bank's $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year, as they reiterated their outlook for gradual interest-rate increases.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker resigned Tuesday saying he confirmed confidential materials in 2012, according to published reports.

Three rate hikes appear to remain appropriate for this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and CEO Patrick T. Harker repeated Monday, noting they can be spread out.

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.