With the policy rate standing above two closely watched measures of inflation, it is now time for the Federal Reserve to allow the economy an extended period to absorb the impact of past rate hikes. … READ MORE >
federal open market committee
Fed pauses rate hikes while signaling a tightening bias
The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday kept its policy rate in a range between 5% and 5.25% while signaling that it will most likely hike the federal funds rate by 25 basis points at least twice before the end of the year. … READ MORE >
Job openings exceed 10 million as labor market imbalance widens
With 10.1 million job vacancies in April, the openings-to-unemployed ratio—a proxy for labor demand and supply mismatches—surged to 1.79 from 1.64 previously. … READ MORE >
Fed hikes rate a quarter point while creating framework for a pause
The 25 basis-point increase was accompanied by changes in the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement that imply a possible pause at the Fed’s next meeting in June. … READ MORE >
Catch-25: Fed hikes rates amid financial stability risk
The Federal Reserve finds itself as it lifted its policy rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday amid a quickly evolving global banking crisis. … READ MORE >
Fed launches $25 billion lending program to prevent bank run
The $25 billion Bank Term Funding Program was necessary to prevent a much larger crisis that would spread through the financial channel to the real economy and almost certainly tip the economy into recession. … READ MORE >
U.S. job creation remains robust, implying more aggressive rate hikes
February showed a 311,000 net change in total employment amid a 3.6% unemployment rate and 4.6% increase in average hourly earnings on a year-ago basis. … READ MORE >
February’s jobs report is likely to generate more questions than answers
We expect a net change in total employment of 310,000 when the jobs data for February is released on Friday, with many of the gains attributable to seasonal fluctuations in hiring. … READ MORE >
FOMC preview: Fed to slow pace of rate hikes to 25 basis points
Our base case remains that the Federal Reserve’s policy rate will peak between 5% and 5.25% and stay there until early next year. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: U.S. producer inflation remained elevated
The report adds pressure on the Federal Reserve, which is considering more aggressive measures to tame inflation. … READ MORE >