Monetary policy

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified in the House Tuesday on the heels of yet another pointed social media post from President Donald Trump. But House Republicans largely avoided landing political blows against the central bank chair.

The Federal Reserve chair appears before the House Financial Services Committee for his first of two days of testimony on Capitol Hill this week, part of his biannual monetary policy report to Congress.

Financial markets were shaken but not stirred this past spring, according to the Federal Reserve, as swinging stock prices and bond yields did little to bring down elevated asset prices or leverage. 

"I would be quite surprised if he did not make a choice that fair-minded observers on both sides recognized as a reasonable person," Summers said on Bloomberg Television.

The government measure of inflation for May ticked up modestly, adding to the signals that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to move on interest rates when it meets next month.

The Federal Reserve Board governor said higher import tariffs could have a "persistent" impact on inflation.

Fischer, who served on the central bank boards of both Israel and the United States and served as the Federal Reserve vice chair from 2014 until 2017, died Saturday at age 81.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said changes to the Federal Open Market Committee's quarterly economic projections could lead to clearer communication with markets and market participants.

The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation moved closer to the 2% target last month, but the impact of tariffs remains to be seen.

The Federal Reserve chair said he made no commitments on the central bank's next monetary policy adjustment, only that the decision would be made based on incoming data.

During its meeting last month, some members of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee expressed concern about persistent supply chain disruptions while others were confident price growth would be constrained.

The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on June 17-18. While no rate cuts are expected at this point, things can change quickly. Lauren Saidel-Baker, economist at ITR Economics, provides her take on the meeting the new Summary of Economic Projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

The Federal Reserve chair said there is "room for improvement" in how the central bank conveys economic uncertainties to markets and the public.

Price growth continued to trend toward the Federal Reserve's 2% target, but not enough to spur action from the central bank.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said global supply chain disruptions and inflation caused by tariffs could weigh heaviest on small businesses, especially those with little access to credit.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation reading fell in March, but the positive reading came before new trade policies hit the economy.

The president said he had "no intention" of firing the Federal Reserve chair and promised that tariffs against Chinese imports would be lowered "substantially."

Federal Reserve Gov. Adriana Kugler said tighter monetary policy has proved to be less impactful on nonbank lenders during the post-pandemic era.

In a post on his social media platform Thursday morning, the president criticized the Federal Reserve's reluctance to lower rates and said the chair's departure "could not come soon enough."

Federal Reserve Board member Christopher Waller said he would not be deterred from classifying inflation as "transitory" despite the board's recent experience underestimating inflationary pressures.