BusinessWeek has a great profile of Tom Hoenig, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Through the sluggish recovery, the other members of the Federal Open Market Committee have repeatedly voted to keep interest rates at scratch for an “extended period.” But not Hoenig. For More…
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee, which makes key interest-rate decisions, announced it plans to take no action this go-around. The pace of the recovery has slowed, it says. Employers aren’t hiring. Inflation is actually too low, it notes. But for the moment, it will do nothing more More…
Today, Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve, testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on Too Big to Fail banks and the general financial collapse. (Find Bernanke’s prepared testimony in a PDF here.) But he is getting the most attention for a comment on housing, where he More…
Speaking at a major annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated he would be willing to support further measures by the central bank to help the recovery. But he did not preview any new tactics, instead elaborating on previously discussed and mostly moderate options. More…
Today, The Washington Post’s Neil Irwin reports that the Federal Reserve — concerned about the sustained high level of unemployment and the general stall-out in the recovery — is considering taking steps to bolster growth. Irwin summarizes the “modest” possible measures:
One pro-growth strategy would be to strengthen language
Today, as expected, the Federal Open Market Committee decided not to raise U.S. interest rates, instead holding the target federal funds rate steady between 0.0 and 0.25 percent. It reiterated its “extended period” language, indicating it sees no need to raise interest rates in the near term. And it More…
The prices for consumer goods fell for a second straight month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today — meaning the second straight month of slight deflation. The Consumer Price Index tracked down 0.2 percent from April to May, with the index increasing 2.0 percent in the past year. More…
Today is a busy day for economic wonks and other economist-types in Washington. Below is a brief guide to all the action:
The Comptroller of the Currency’s new report on the mortgage market in the fourth quarter of 2009 also sheds light on some of the problems reported by borrowers accepting all temporary and permanent HAMP modifications (including ones in HAMP) — problems which, left unchecked, will likely More…
China, where, as a matter of policy, the yuan is deliberately undervalued in order to keep Chinese exports cheap, is now attacking the U.S. for its weak currency. Is there a translation for “the pot calling the kettle black?” In better news, at least the Chinese finally acknowledged More…
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