FOMC Review
Comment on FOMC Statement, Forecasts, and Powell Press Conference
December 11, 2019
The Federal Open Market Committee left the federal funds target unchanged at 1.25-1.50% and reached that decision unanimously. A policy change was not expected, and there was nothing meaningfully new presented in the formal statement released today. Likewise, the updated forecasts included nothing remarkable. Projected GDP growth of 2.0% next year, 1.9% in 2021 and […] More
FOMC Review
March 21, 2018
As expected and revealed in a published statement and new economic projections, the Fed implemented a sixth 25-basis increase in its federal funds target range to 1.50-1.75% and upgraded its forecasts GDP growth in 2018 and 2019, the labor market over the coming three years, and the core PCE inflation index for 2019 and 2020. […] More
Minor Modifications Only in FOMC Statement
July 26, 2017
Today’s FOMC statement left the federal funds rate target range at 1.0-1.25% as widely expected. The document added virtually nothing meaningfully new to the market’s understanding of current policy and the intentions of its officials, yet it produced a further significant drop in the dollar, which hit a low of 1.1741 per euro during the […] More
Not Much to Discern from Latest FOMC Policy Statement
February 1, 2017
The FOMC document released today reads almost identically to the previous December statement when the federal funds target range was lifted 25 basis points to 0.50-0.75%. The range was not increased further today, and the decision, like December’s verdict, was unanimous by a 10-0 vote despite at changeover in the voting-privileged district presidents. At the December […] More
FOMC Review
June 15, 2016
The FOMC did not raise interest rates at its June meeting, but confidence was expressed in the released statement and in Yellen’s press conference that GDP is picking up nicely in the second quarter. She would not rule out a hike in July. Wages are accelerating, and the June employment data will be important. The […] More
Federal Reserve Manages to Communicate a Comforting Message as a New Policy Chapter Begins
December 16, 2015
The Federal Open Market Committee released a statement confirming the universally held belief that the federal funds rate would be raised by 25 basis points and that the balance sheet of the central bank would not be squeezed just yet. The statement was accompanied by fresh forecasts going out to 2018 that were modified only […] More
FOMC Statement and Press Conference
March 18, 2015
Within the two hours after today’s FOMC statement was released and 30 minutes from the end of Janet Yellen’s press conference, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.8%, the dollar fell by 1.8% against the euro and 0.6% versus the yen, and the 10-year Treasury yield swung from five basis points above the 2.00% threshold […] More
FOMC Statement Makes No Radical Shifts and Draws a Dissenting Vote
July 30, 2014
The latest Federal Open Market Committee statement No longer calls the jobless rate “elevated” but asserts that other measures indicate “significant underutilizatrion of labor resources.” Notes that “inflation has moved somewhat closer to the Committee’s longer-run objective.” Also “judges that the likelihood of inflation running persistently below 2% has diminished somewhat.” Cuts monthly asset buying […] More
A Few Takeaways from Today’s Federal Reserve Actions
June 18, 2014
The formal FOMC statement revealed almost nothing really useful. Most of the text was repeated language, and the modifications were unsurprising. The economic assessment of rebounding activity and a further improvement of the labor market were predictable. So was the decision to scale back asset buying by another $10 billion per month. Nobody dissented, the […] More
