Fed Push to Tie Zero-Rate to Economic Goals Faces Doubts

Two Federal Reserve regional bank presidents signaled opposition to a proposal to sharpen monetary policy by linking the Fed’s zero-interest-rate forecast to economic indicators.

“I am concerned that we would create more confusion than clarity,” Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said in a speech yesterday in Washington. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said after a speech in Stanford, California, “it’s very difficult for us to state specific employment targets.”