Federal Reserve | featured news

The U.S. job market is flagging, and consumer prices are barely rising. The picture sketched by data released Thursday has made some economists predict the Federal Reserve will announce some new step next week to boost the economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke maintained that the economy was continuing to grow at a moderate pace, despite the recent sharp deceleration in job growth and a slowdown in economic output in large part because of federal spending cuts.

The Federal Reserve is crucifying the U.S. economy on a cross of two-percent inflation... The Fed makes a very simple promise: It promises to keep inflation at a certain level every year. That level has changed over the past 30 years, but it's currently around 2% a year. If the economy is running too hot, the Fed raises interest rates. If it's running cold, it lowers rates.

Top Federal Reserve officials, saying the economy is expanding moderately, reaffirmed their pledge to keep short-term interest rates at record lows through 2014.

They’ve tried dumping $2 trillion in cash into the financial system, slashed overnight interest rates to zero and made an unprecedented promise to keep rates low for at least another two years.

Employers hired far fewer workers in March than in previous months, keeping the door open for the Federal Reserve to provide more monetary support for a still sluggish economy.

Wall Street took a drubbing Wednesday as investors worried that the Federal Reserve might not be willing to pump more money into the U.S. economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday it is too soon to declare victory in the U.S. economic recovery, warning against complacency in policymaking as the outlook brightens.

Chairman Ben Bernanke says the U.S. job market remains weak despite three months of strong hiring and that the Federal Reserve's existing policies will help boost economic growth.

The Federal Reserve also said on Tuesday that JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and others could raise dividends or buy back stock.