Federal Open Market Committee March 13 Statement: Full Text
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, Alfred Broaddus, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and Steven Rattner, former head of the U.S. government's automotive task force, offer thier views on today's Federal Open Market Committee decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low through mid-2013. This report also contains comments from Christina Romer, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, a former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Bloomberg contributing editor, and John Herrmann, fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC. (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve pledged for the first time to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low at least through mid-2013 in a bid to revive the flagging recovery after a worldwide stock rout. Three members of the Federal Open Market Committee dissented, preferring to maintain the pledge to keep rates low for an “extended period.” Megan Hughes and Michael McKee report on Bloomberg Television's "Bottom Line." (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Rattner, former head of the U.S. government's automotive task force, talks about Federal Reserve monetary policy, the outlook for another round of quantitative easing and President Barack Obama's economic policy. He speaks with Matt Miller and Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Alfred Broaddus, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, talks about today's Federal Open Market Committee decision to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low through mid-2013. Broaddus talks with Carol Massar and Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Christina Romer, former chairman of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers and a Bloomberg contributing editor, and Andrew Brimmer, president of Brimmer & Co. and a former Federal Reserve governor, talk about the Fed's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low at least through mid-2013. They speak with Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg Television's "Bottom Line." (Source: Bloomberg)
The following is a reformatted version of the full text of the statement released today by the Federal Reserve in Washington:
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately. Labor market conditions have improved further, the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment have continued to advance. The housing sector remains depressed. Inflation has been subdued in recent months, although prices of crude oil and gasoline have increased lately. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee expects moderate economic growth over coming quarters and consequently anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Strains in global financial markets have eased, though they continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook. The recent increase in oil and gasoline prices will push up inflation temporarily, but the Committee anticipates that subsequently inflation will run at or below the rate that it judges most consistent with its dual mandate.
To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy. In particular, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions -- including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run -- are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.
The Committee also decided to continue its program to extend the average maturity of its holdings of securities as announced in September. The Committee is maintaining its existing policies of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Elizabeth A. Duke; Dennis P. Lockhart; Sandra Pianalto; Sarah Bloom Raskin; Daniel K. Tarullo; John C. Williams; and Janet L. Yellen. Voting against the action was Jeffrey M. Lacker, who does not anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate through late 2014.
Rate this Page