The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. The sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have improved in recent months, but the rise in COVID-19 cases has slowed their recovery. Inflation is elevated, largely reflecting transitory factors. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support ... (full story)

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held benchmark interest rates near zero, but indicated rate hikes could be coming a bit sooner than expected while significantly cutting their economic outlook for this year. Along with those largely expected moves, officials on the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee indicated they will start pulling back on some of the stimulus the central bank has been providing during the financial crisis. There was no indication, though, as to when that might happen. “If progress continues broadly as expected, the Committee judges that a moderation in the pace of asset purchases may soon ... (full story)