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Central banks are worried about inflation flaring up again

Nov 19, 2024
Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, potential trade wars and climate disasters have monetary policymakers around the globe on edge.
Ongoing real wars and potential trade wars are among the conditions that have monetary officials on edge in several countries.
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

What a second Trump term would mean for the central bank

Nov 8, 2024
On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell wouldn’t rule out an interest rate hike next year, though that's not the plan at this point.
At Thursday's press conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell wouldn’t rule out an interest rate hike next year.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Why does the Federal Reserve maintain its independence?

Aug 9, 2024
The insulation of the Central Bank from political headwinds helps the U.S. economy run.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

One week, three central bank meetings

Jul 29, 2024
In meetings this week, central bankers will consider cutting interest rates in the U.S. and U.K., while rate hikes could be on the table in Japan.
While goods price inflation has fallen in the U.K., services prices remain very sticky.
Yui Mok/POOL/AFP

Fed Chair Powell: Interest rates likely won't return to "historically low levels" before the pandemic

Powell discusses how monetary policymakers arrive at consensus, the value of transparency and the issues that influence interest rate decisions.
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal interviews Jay Powell, head of the Federal Reserve.
Courtesy Federal Reserve

Corporate bonds are in demand amid optimism and declining yields

Jan 30, 2024
Many investors see big companies as healthy and want to get into the market before the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates.
January has been a busy month in the corporate bond market, driven in part by expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Wage growth seems to be slowing. But is it enough to please Fed policymakers?

Nov 4, 2022
The central bank watches for signs of wage inflation because it can drive price inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said wage gains have been “well above” the level needed to come down to Fed’s 2% inflation target.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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As the Fed cranks up interest rates, critics ring warning bells

Some economists and policy advisers fear that the Federal Reserve's rapid hikes could tip the global economy into a painful recession.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks on Sept. 21, after the central bank decided to raise rates by 75 basis points for the third consecutive time.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Central banks are searching for new tools

Jan 23, 2020
The ECB and the Federal Reserve are attempting to figure out if their approach to monetary policy still works.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said she’s also looking for answers from the public on how to change the bank's monetary policy strategy.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Turkey raises interest rates to stem currency crisis

May 23, 2018
The Turkish lira has been on a wild slide recently. It dropped 5 percent against the dollar Wednesday, its biggest loss in nearly a decade, before the country’s Central Bank stepped in with an emergency meeting that reversed some of those losses. The bank finally did something it’d been resisting. Something its president had been […]