Federal Reserve, U.s. Economy | featured news

U.S. consumer prices fell in November for the first time in six months, pointing to muted inflation pressures that should allow the Federal Reserve to stay on its ultra-easy monetary policy path as it nurses the economy back to health.

The central bank said Wednesday that it would maintain short-term interest rates near zero, even after it stops buying bonds, for as long as the unemployment rate stayed above 6.5 percent.

The improving housing market is "far from being out of the woods," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, arguing that overly tight lending standards are part of the problem.

With the Federal Reserve buying billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities, you might think that mortgage rates are poised to fall even lower than the current rock-bottom levels. Maybe you should wait on that refinancing, you wonder, or delay purchasing a house until the market is even more favorable.

Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a wide-ranging defense Monday of the Federal Reserve's aggressive policies to stimulate the still-weak economy. The Fed needs to drive down long-term borrowing rates because the economy isn't growing fast enough to reduce high unemployment, Bernanke said in a speech to the Economic Club of Indiana. The unemployment rate is 8.1 percent.

The Federal Reserve, hoping to give another shot in the arm to the pallid recovery, announced it would launch a new round of a controversial bond-buying stimulus program. The central bank also further extended its pledge to keep short-term interest rates near zero, now through the middle of 2015.

Odds are mounting that the Federal Reserve could take action as soon as Thursday to energize a U.S. economy that is struggling to gain momentum in the face of a lackluster labor market and uncertain fiscal policy, according to a Reuters poll.

The Fed is on the verge of expanding its stimulus policies. We learned that much during the meetings in Jackson Hole, Wyo. But what may be more interesting is the undercurrent of discussion about what happens when those measures prove insufficient.

A growing number of small and medium-sized banks are merging as shrinking profit margins, tepid loan demand and low interest rates place pressure on their operations. Conditions are unlikely to improve as the Federal Reserve contemplates another round of stimulus that could push rates even lower.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke makes clear in a letter to a House lawmaker that he thinks the Fed can do more to bolster the economic recovery and help reduce unemployment.