Where inflation may linger

Dec 15, 2021
Despite Federal Reserve action, inflation may persist for homes, but gasoline and food prices may respond more quickly.
Apartment buildings in Miami. Inflation might persist in the shelter category despite Federal Reserve action, some experts say.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images

The Fed has ways to put the brakes on rising prices

Dec 14, 2021
Most of them need a little time to slow the economy down.
To curb inflation, the central bank can reduce bond buying, raise interest rates and try to  influence consumers' expectations and behavior.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

How Fed "tapering" can make mortgages more expensive

Dec 2, 2021
It opens the door to interest rate hikes.
Homebuyers have been benefiting from low interest rates. The Federal Reserve's plan to reduce bond purchases may change that.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Biden seeks to keep Powell in place, elevate Brainard at Federal Reserve

Nov 22, 2021
Brainard will be nominated for vice chair. The two officials typically agree on monetary policy but sometimes diverge on regulation.
President Joe Biden names Jerome Powell, left, as his nominee for Federal Reserve chair and Lael Brainard, right, as vice chair.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Yellen says high inflation is temporary. And if it isn't?

Oct 25, 2021
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says inflation should ease by next year, but anxiety about that is still running high.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen addresses a hybrid meeting in October 2021. Yellen has reiterated her belief that current inflation is only temporary.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Is Jerome Powell's job as Federal Reserve chair in jeopardy?

Oct 20, 2021
Critics have intensified calls for a new Federal Reserve chair following Powell's financial disclosures, says Rachel Siegel of The Washington Post.
Some are calling for a new Fed Chair following release of Powell's financial disclosures. Above, Fed Chair Jerome Powell visiting Capitol Hill on Oct. 6.
Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

What does the Federal Reserve board of governors do, besides voting on interest rates?

Oct 15, 2021
There are seven members of the board of governors. Usually.
Randal Quarles, a member of the Federal Reserve board of governors, was vice chair for supervision at the central bank until this week. The Fed said that position would go unfilled.
Lintao Zhang via Getty Images

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Will the Fed use regional openings to diversify its leadership?

Oct 7, 2021
A group of directors at each regional bank is in charge of forming a search committee to hire a new president.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has expressed support for diversifying the regional Fed banks.
Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

How might a Federal Reserve digital currency work?

Oct 7, 2021
People without access to a regular bank account might be able to have one with the Fed, but that also raises privacy concerns.
The Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"Trust is our most important tool," says San Francisco Fed chief Mary Daly

Oct 6, 2021
Mary Daly weighs in on inflation, the debt ceiling impasse and why public trust is essential for monetary policymakers at the central bank.
Mary Daly, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, with "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal. "If we don't have the people's trust, then nothing we do will matter," she said.
Sean McHenry/Marketplace