Monetary policy

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown said Wednesday that the Senate would wait to confirm President Biden’s Federal Reserve picks until the return of Democrats recovering from the coronavirus.

Lael Brainard was confirmed as vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Tuesday in a 52-43 Senate vote, the first of four central bank nominees set for consideration by the chamber.

A trio of COVID-19 cases among Democrats is expected to delay Senate plans to confirm Federal Reserve nominee Lisa Cook and Federal Trade Commission nominee Alvaro Bedoya this week.

Joe Manchin, a key Democrat in the U.S. Senate, said he’s spoken to Michael Barr, President Joe Biden’s choice to be the U.S. Federal Reserve chief banking supervisor, and so far doesn’t see a problem with his nomination.

Details on how officials expect to proceed are expected to be revealed on Wednesday when the Fed publishes minutes of its March 15-16 meeting.

Outflows continued, with Refinitiv Lipper reporting investors shed $1.503 billion from municipal bond mutual funds in the week, following outflows of $2.136 billion in the previous week. High-yield saw small inflows.

Scott Colbert, executive vice president and chief economist at Commerce Trust Co., will discuss the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and where they go from here.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates higher than officials are currently projecting if it is to wrestle inflation back under control, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said he won’t back President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Federal Reserve vice chair of supervision, Sarah Bloom Raskin — likely dooming her confirmation in the Senate given Republican opposition.

Sarah Bloom Raskin’s nomination to be Federal Reserve vice chair of supervision has taken another hit as key Senate Democrat Joe Manchin suggested President Joe Biden’s other four central bank nominees move forward without her.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said the central bank should increase interest rates to close to its “neutral” setting this year, implying as many as seven quarter-point hikes.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he favors raising interest rates by 25 basis points at the Federal Open Market Committee’s March meeting but would consider a larger half-point move if monthly inflation readings fail to decline from elevated levels.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she supports raising interest rates next month and tightening policy at a faster pace if needed to curb inflation.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said bringing down inflation may require the central bank to overshoot a neutral target interest rate, which he sees as about 2%.

In an interview on Thursday, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard discussed his outlook for monetary policy following a report showing surging consumer prices.

Sarah Bloom Raskin tried again Wednesday to assuage Republicans’ concerns about her hawkish stances on mitigating climate risks ahead of a vote on her nomination to be Wall Street’s top bank regulator.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced Susan Collins, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, will become its next president effective July 1.

The market consensus is that interest rates will rise by two to three percentage points over the next three years. What will that mean?

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said investors need to brace for the Federal Reserve to potentially raise interest rates at all seven remaining policy meetings this year and even for it to hike by more than a quarter point in one go.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he would like to raise interest rates at the central bank’s meetings in March and May but played down the benefits of a larger-than-expected move.