Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell issued a strong defense of the Federal Open Market Committee’s gradual path to normalizing interest rates today, emphasizing that this path addresses both the risk of acting too fast and choking off economic growth too soon and the risk of not tightening before inflation accelerates too quickly.

The Federal Open Market Committee judged that if the economy continues to perform in line with members’ outlook, “it would likely soon be appropriate to take another step in removing policy accommodation,” according to the minutes from the July 31-August 1 meeting. Committee members also noted that it would likely soon be appropriate to revise the characterization of the stance ...

At its meeting today, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously voted to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.75 to 2.0 percent. The committee’s statement was nearly identical to that of June, once again noting “that further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be consistent with sustained expansion of ...

The Federal Reserve today issued a report defending its long-standing practice of paying interest on banks’ excess reserves held at the Fed.

As deposit competition heats up, bankers may need to revisit assumptions and pricing models.

The Federal Open Market Committee judged that with the economy already very strong and inflation expected to run at 2 percent over the medium term, “it would likely be appropriate to continue gradually raising the target range for the federal funds rate to a setting that was at or somewhat above their estimates of its longer-run level by 2019 or ...

Six months after last discussing the economic outlook with Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, the ABA Banking Journal Podcast welcomes Zentner for a new economic update.

Economic growth will hit 2.8 percent for 2018, the fastest rate of growth in the current expansion, the ABA Economic Advisory Committee said today.

At its meeting today, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously voted to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1.75 to 2.0 percent. It was the second hike this year. The committee signaled two more increases this year as inflation rises and the unemployment rate drifts lower. Committee members expect “that further gradual increases in the ...

The Federal Open Market Committee agreed that if the economy performs as expected “it would likely soon be appropriate for the committee to take another step” in raising rates, according to the minutes from the May 1-2 meeting. During the meeting, committee members decided to hold rates between 1.5 to 1.75 percent. The Committee will next meet June 12-13. Committee ...