The Fed has held short-term rates at near-zero since December 2008 in an effort to spur economic activity by lowering the cost of borrowing.
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Job growth in September was hurt by a decline in the labor force participation rate – a measure of how many people are working or looking for work – to 62.4 from 62.6.
Evans is recognized as a dove, or one of a group of Fed members who believes the Fed should be extremely cautious about raising rates for the first time in near a decade.
FOMC participants expect a rate increase this year, according to the forecasts released last month. Invest in them as they are a better choice than bonds since they offer regular dividends.
Gold raced through another resistance level as the dollar continued to weaken after last night’s minutes of the US Federal Reserve.
When the Fed does raise rates, he said, it is “critically important” that it tells markets clearly that rates hikes will be gradual. Pent-up investor demand fueled a jump in Shanghai stocks after Chinese markets reopened Thursday, October 8, 2015, following a…
The firms surveyed were the Fed’s so-called primary dealers, firms that trade billions of dollars of government securities with the Fed each day and must meet various broker financial requirements to participate.
EARNINGS: Investors are now positioning themselves for corporate earnings season, which picks up steam next week with most of the nation’s largest banks reporting their results, as well as big companies like Intel, Netflix, UnitedHealth and General Electric.
New economic data have increased uncertainty about the recovery’s strength and the potential harm of a rate hike, he said. The Fed was anxious about the downside risks to inflation, the appreciation of the United States dollar, and the challenge that a premature rate rise would have on its credibility while the global economy slowed. Employment gains for the previous two months were also trimmed by a combined 59,000.
Meanwhile, other economic reports did not paint an encouraging picture either. The ISM Manufacturing Index, construction spending, factory orders and capacity utilization all came in below expectations. It wants to see inflation move toward 2%.
Lockhart also said financial market turmoil shouldn’t be overly influential to the Fed.
To add to the bank’s concerns, the clouds of disappointing economic data are gathering around Germany.
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The organisation has been locked in an intense debate over the timing of a rate hike with sagging inflation impeding a launch-off. He said that interest rate changes by the Fed, alone, wouldn’t accelerate growth. Utilities are a capital intensive business and the funds generated from internal sources are not always sufficient to meet their requirements.
