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The problem of sticky inflation resides with housing, Fed's Goolsbee says

May 15, 2024
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee talks the latest CPI release and what it means for the Fed's continued fight against inflation.
Austan Goolsbee, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
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Why isn't the cost of borrowing money included in the consumer price index?

May 15, 2024
Loans are a big cost, but they would muddle the data in the CPI. Fed rate hikes would essentially create inflation, despite their intention.
Borrowing is a major expense for many Americans. One example is the interest on car loans.
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If the Federal Reserve waits to cut interest rates, will the European Central Bank follow suit?

Apr 11, 2024
Inflation’s up again in the U.S. while the EU is edging closer to its target. That brings the ECB to a bit of a fork in the road.
If the U.S. and EU economies are diverging, the central banks may pursue different policies, said finance professor Bill English.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

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.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

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.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

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.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images