Yellen Signals End of Zero-Rate Patience With Flexible Timetable

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen sought to prepare investors for a change in the Fed’s pledge to be “patient” on raising interest rates, saying it would provide flexibility to tighten when conditions are ripe.

A shift in guidance would signal the economy has improved to the point where an increase “could be warranted at any meeting,” while not necessarily committing policy makers to a rate increase on a specific timetable, Yellen said in testimony Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee.