Fed Likely To Leave Interest Rates Unchanged

Jan. 13, 2005
By John S. McClenahen In the wake of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on April 30, the consensus is that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed group that sets U.S. interest ...
ByJohn S. McClenahen In the wake of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on April 30, the consensus is that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed group that sets U.S. interest rates, will leave the influential federal funds rate at 1.25% when it meets next Tuesday. Greenspan "conveyed enough optimism about the growth outlook to support our expectation that policy will be left unchanged at the May 6 FOMC meeting," states Maury Harris, chief U.S. economist at UBS Warburg LLC, New York. However, opinion is divided on whether or not the FOMC will signal a "bias" in favor of further reducing short-term interest rates. Harris, for example, expects the panel to adopt a "balanced" position between lowering and raising rates. But David Rosenberg, chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch & Co., New York, anticipates a "de facto" bias toward lowering rates. The last time the FOMC met, on March 18, the panel abstained from characterizing its level of confidence, saying the U.S. economic situation was just too uncertain.

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!