Fed Keeps Rates Constant At 465 Basis Points Below Where It Should Be

Meanwhile, down at the Snakehole Lounge,
(Bloomberg) – Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged while acknowledging rising confidence among consumers and businesses following Donald Trump’s election victory.
‘Measures of consumer and business sentiment have improved of late,’ the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington. Policy makers reiterated their expectations for moderate economic growth, ‘some further strengthening’ in the labor market and a return to 2 percent inflation.
The Fed provided little direction on when it might next raise borrowing costs, as officials grapple with the uncertainty created by a new presidential administration. Policy makers in December penciled three rate hikes into their 2017 forecasts, but committee members differ over assumptions regarding the extent to which tax cuts, spending and regulatory rollbacks proposed by Trump and Republicans might boost growth and inflation.

This post was published at Wall Street Examiner by Anthony B. Sanders ‘ February 1, 2017.