Monetary policy

Policymakers may not wait until their mid-month meeting and could act with other central banks.

The Federal Reserve is monitoring the COVID-19 issue and its economic effects, according to a release from the central bank, attributed to Chairman Jerome Powell, released Friday.

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who broke the back of U.S. inflation in the 1980s and three decades later led President Barack Obama’s bid to rein in the investment risk-taking of commercial banks, has died.

Unlike previous central bank chiefs, Powell’s chances of being renominated by either the current president or many of the Democratic contenders are slim.

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing Feb. 26 on "holding credit bureaus accountable" — one of seven hearings scheduled by the panel for the month.

Interest rates are nearing the neutral level — the rate that neither stimulates nor restrains economic growth — Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

If the predictions prove correct, the benchmark rate would reach 3.50% by the end of next year.

Powell, a former investment banker who has served as a Fed governor, was confirmed by the Senate last month to a four-year term as chair of the central bank.

Senators overwhelmingly approved Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve Board despite vocal opposition from some Democrats.

The Senate Banking Committee had approved Powell already in December, but a revote was necessary after the Senate adjourned for the year without finalizing his confirmation.