Fed chair flags corporate bond risk

Feb 11, 2020
In a report submitted to Congress the Federal Reserve highlighted an increase in the riskiest investment-grade corporate debt.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Feb. 11, 2020.
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Central banks are searching for new tools

Jan 23, 2020
The ECB and the Federal Reserve are attempting to figure out if their approach to monetary policy still works.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said she’s also looking for answers from the public on how to change the bank's monetary policy strategy.
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For Dallas Fed president, the phase one deal is "stabilization"

Jan 14, 2020
Robert Kaplan weighs in on how trade has shaped the central bank and where the economy is headed next.
"I think the trade dispute with China is going to go on for years," says Robert Kaplan, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Trying to solve an inflation mystery

Jan 13, 2020
When prices for an item swing wildly up and down, they can drastically skew inflation measurements. A new index aims to rectify that.
Why would a decline in cellphone service plan prices affect inflation so drastically?
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The Fed says the economy is in a "good place." Could it be doing more?

Jan 9, 2020
The economy looks good on paper, but there's little the Federal Reserve can do to address economic inequality.
The Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.
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"We recognize it when we make a mistake, and we adjust" — Minneapolis Fed president

Dec 19, 2019
The central bank made a policy U-turn in 2019, cutting interest rates. Neel Kashkari says that's a good thing.
Neel Kashkari testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in 2008.
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Inflation: Maybe it's all in our heads

Dec 13, 2019
It's possible that prices aren't rising much because we don't expect prices to rise much.
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For public good, not for profit.

The Fed may have been wrong about the economy for years

Dec 11, 2019
2019 saw a major shift in monetary policy. Does that mean the Fed has been wrong about the economy for years?
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks following the final FOMC meeting of 2019.
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Rural bank branches more scarce than ever

Dec 3, 2019
The Federal Reserve found that over 40% of rural counties lost bank branches in the five years to 2017.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

In a currency war, everyone loses

Dec 2, 2019
When countries tried to undercut each other to gain a trade advantage between world wars, it led to global inflation, a University of Michigan professor says.
A U.S. dollar and Brazilian two real note.
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