Economics
Fed Officials Voice Economic Concerns But Not Ready to Boost Aid
- Cleveland Fed’s Mester says fiscal support more appropriate
- Dallas Fed’s Kaplan: loan programs should continue into 2021
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Two voting members of the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting body declined to endorse boosting monetary stimulus even as they voiced concerns the U.S. economy will suffer from the surging pandemic.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said fiscal policy support, not additional monetary-policy action, is what the U.S. needs most as surging Covid-19 infection rates threaten to smother economic activity. Robert Kaplan, president of the Dallas Fed, said he doesn’t support increasing the central bank’s asset purchase program right now, although the economy could contract in the last three months of the year before rebounding during 2021.