Business Maverick: Fed Leaves Rates Near Zero, Repeats Vow to Use All Its Tools

  • 📰 dailymaverick
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 55 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 25%
  • Publisher: 84%

United States News News

United States United States Latest News,United States United States Headlines

Federal Reserve officials left their benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero and again vowed to use all their tools to support the U.S. economy amid a shaky recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus,” the the U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday following a two-day policy meeting. Economic activity and employment, after sharp declines, “have picked up somewhat in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year,” the Fed said.

The vote, to leave the federal funds target rate in a range of 0% to 0.25%, was unanimous. The FOMC also reiterated its pledge to increase its holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities “at least at the current pace” over coming months. The statement didn’t include any mention of Fed officials linking the rate path to specific inflation or unemployment thresholds, a move that economists expect to happen in September.In a separate statement Wednesday, the Fed said it extended its dollar liquidity swap lines and the temporary repurchase agreement facility for foreign and international monetary authorities through March 31, 2021.

That aggressive action has helped to calm investors. But progress toward recovery has been complicated in recent weeks by a new wave of coronavirus outbreaks across major states in the South and West including Texas, Florida, California and Arizona.are pointing to a stall in the rebound as consumers hold out from activities like dining out and air travel that had started to bounce back when the earlier wave of outbreaks dissipated.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in US
 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Business Maverick: Stocks Mixed Before Fed; Treasuries Keep Advance: Markets WrapAsian stocks struggled for a clear direction as investors awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Treasuries held overnight gains and the dollar steadied.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Business Maverick: Business sees long and hard road for SA’s economic recoveryBusiness for SA has warned that the country’s economic recovery could take two years or longer because the economy was already weak at the start of 2020 and before the highly contagious virus was imported.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Business Maverick: Canon Plunges Most in Eight Years After First Quarterly LossCanon Inc. slid to a two-decade low after reporting its first quarterly loss, as the Japanese icon struggled with potentially the worst global downturn since the Great Depression.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

BUSINESS MAVERICK ANALYSIS: Dollar’s diminishing safe-haven status is a benefit to emerging marketsInvestors have been rushing to the sanctuary of gold and alternative safe-haven currencies instead of the dollar, which reached a 22-year low. Low US bond yields, political uncertainty ahead of the elections and concern about the difficulties the US is having in getting the pandemic under control are all weighing on the greenback.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

BUSINESS MAVERICK: Life after the pandemic: Kumba approves R7bn mine expansion projectEven amid the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic turbulence, companies are allocating capital to expansion projects. Kumba Iron Ore, a unit of Anglo American, has announced approval of funding for its R7-billion Kapstevel South project at the Kolomela mine in the Northern Cape province. This underscores Anglo’s commitment to South Africa.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

BUSINESS MAVERICK: R16.5bn to make the R135bn Steinhoff headache go awaySometimes it’s better to cut your losses and run. This is what Steinhoff’s board is hoping aggrieved shareholders will do. One shareholder is not taking the bait.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »