Jul 11 WATCH: Powell says Fed prepared to keep economy in a ‘very good place’ By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments before the Senate Banking Committee strengthened the message he had sent to a House panel on Wednesday that the central bank is prepared to cut interest rates to support economic growth. Continue reading
Jul 10 WATCH: Fed chair Jerome Powell says rate cut likely coming soon By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press The chairman's remarks led investors to send stock prices up, bond yields down and the value of the U.S. dollar lower on expectations of lower interest rates. The S&P 500 index briefly traded over 3,000 for the first time. Continue reading
Jul 05 Fed repeats pledge to ‘act as appropriate’ to sustain economic expansion By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press The Federal Reserve on Friday repeated its pledge to "act as appropriate" to sustain the current economic expansion, now the longest in U.S. history, while noting that most Fed officials have lowered their expectations for the future course of interest… Continue reading
Jun 19 Watch 5:12 Why the Fed kept interest rates steady for now, despite pressure from Trump The Federal Reserve says it's holding its benchmark interest rate steady, despite ongoing pressure from President Trump to reduce it. But Fed Chairman Jay Powell expressed openness to the idea of cutting rates if economic indicators warrant. He also recently… Continue watching
Jun 19 WATCH: Fed leaves its key rate unchanged but hints at future cuts By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press The Federal Reserve signaled that it's prepared to start cutting rates if needed to protect the U.S. economy from trade conflicts and other threats. Continue reading
Jun 04 Powell hints Fed will cut rates if needed over trade wars By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press Powell's remarks helped drive up stock prices, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day up more than 500 points, or 2 percent. Continue reading
Apr 05 Watch 5:30 As Trump takes another shot at the Fed, how is the economy faring? The U.S. economy has created jobs for over 100 consecutive months, and unemployment is near a 50-year low. Still, President Donald Trump is vocal about his belief that the Federal Reserve is holding the economy back from stronger growth. William… Continue watching
Mar 21 Who benefits from the Fed’s decision not to raise interest rates By Stan Choe, Associated Press Borrowers, homeowners and investors could all benefit from the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady for the foreseeable future. Continue reading
Mar 20 WATCH: Federal Reserve foresees no interest rate hikes in 2019 The Fed is all but sure to keep its key short-term rate — which can influence mortgages and credit cards — below 2.5 percent. Continue reading
Feb 22 Federal Reserve says it will be ‘patient’ on interest rate hikes By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press The Fed's semi-annual report to Congress on monetary policy cites a range of risks to the economy that have developed over the last six months, as well as continued muted inflation as reasons to slow further hikes. Continue reading