When will rates go down? The answer rests on conflicting economic data.

Apr 4, 2024
The numbers are sending positive and negative signs, making the future of inflation, and the timing of Fed interest rate cuts, uncertain.
The numbers paint a mixed picture of the economy, so Federal Reserve officials seem to be waiting for clarity.
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Fed Chair Powell: Interest rates likely won't return to "historically low levels" before the pandemic

Powell discusses how monetary policymakers arrive at consensus, the value of transparency and the issues that influence interest rate decisions.
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal interviews Jay Powell, head of the Federal Reserve.
Courtesy Federal Reserve

What does the Fed mean when it says it's looking for 'good data'?

Mar 28, 2024
The latest Personal Consumption Expenditures index, or PCE, will be released Friday. Experts say there are other clues the Fed is looking for, too.
Basically, the Fed needs to feel the way it felt at the end of 2023 when inflation had been falling for half a year, says former Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota.
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Think of the US Fed Chair as the economy’s "Iron Throne"

Mar 22, 2024
Don’t let the tranquil tone and technical language fool you — the stakes at the Federal Reserve are higher than anything in Westeros.
Over two years, Jerome Powell raised interest rates 11 times, a move intended to bring down inflation, but that also hit the housing market like a thousand angry dragons.
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The Fed loves a data buffet. What's on the menu these days?

Mar 20, 2024
Beyond government reports on inflation and jobs, it examines bank and payment processor data along with factory output, credit and rents.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell leaves a news conference. "I like to refer to the Federal Reserve as the Hoover vacuum of data," says former Fed economist Claudia Sahm.
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Interest rates worldwide might start falling as central banks meet this week

Mar 18, 2024
Switzerland may be the first to start rolling back the recent round of rate hikes.
The European Central Bank is expected to be among the first central banks to start cutting rates, says Sharyn O’Halloran at Columbia Business School.
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The Fed's Beige Book offers a more colorful look behind the stats

Mar 7, 2024
The latest edition includes comments from community bankers, real estate brokers, farm-implement suppliers—you name it.
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When will the Fed cut rates? Senators are likely to put Jay Powell on the spot when he testifies

Mar 7, 2024
He says there's likely to be a rate cut this year, but he won't say when.
Above, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
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How independent are Fed officials from the politicians who appoint them?

Mar 6, 2024
Biden has mostly shied away from publicly criticizing the Fed chair, while Trump tweeted about the Fed hundreds of times while in office.
It’s a mistake to think the Federal Reserve is completely immune from politics, says Sarah Binder at George Washington University. Above, Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
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"I think our fear of high inflation is well warranted," Minneapolis Fed president says

Feb 21, 2024
Neel Kashkari weighs in on the state of the economy and what's left to bring inflation down to the Fed's 2% target.
"I do the grocery shopping for my family. I started doing that when the pandemic hit, and I still have sticker shock," says Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed president.
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