The Federal Reserve’s slow response to the global inflation crisis “was a mistake,” said Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during an appearance on CNBC that aired on May 16. Bernanke said that the central bank’s slow response to inflation has allowed the crisis to escalate into one of the worst periods in financial history since the early…

Commentary It was born on Christmas eve in 1913—with barely a quorum in attendance. And it grew to be the greatest engineer of unintended consequences ever.  That night, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act and gave birth to this country’s third (there were two before that didn’t work out so well) central bank. The “Fed”…

Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester on Tuesday said she would like to raise interest rates to about 2.5 percent by year end, with bigger rate hikes in the first half, and further tightening next year to bring down high inflation and keep it from getting entrenched. “I find it appealing to front-load some…

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, on March 22 reiterated last week’s call for a more aggressive stance to combat the highest level of inflation in 40 years. Bullard said that U.S. monetary policy needs to be tightened sooner rather than later, by raising interest rates to above 3 percent by…

The U.S. dollar has strengthened and the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest level in 3 years following hawkish remarks by the Federal Reserve chair, while oil prices remained volatile after briefly extending gains as Europe mulls sanctioning Russian energy imports. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said at a National Association for Business Economics…

Big tech stocks faced a sea of red on Jan. 18, after rising high during the pandemic, as investors pull back after reports of interest rate hikes this year from central banks. The downturn is being blamed on surging bond yields as investors prepare for the curtailment of Federal Reserve stimulus. High growth firms saw…

Commentary The toxic combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve has created one of the more treacherous macro environments in history. When COVID closed the economy last year, it provoked an unprecedented orgy of fabricating money out of thin air. More than $3 trillion was created in 2020 alone. Almost…

WASHINGTON—Inflation could “become more sticky” in some parts of the world if supply chain disruptions continue or inflation expectations become de-anchored, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. In the United States, the world’s largest economy, inflation is expected to move down in 2022, but policymakers should remain vigilant given upside risks, IMF spokesman Gerry…

U.S. businesses are having few problems raising prices on customers for the first time in years, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Monday, as he warned that inflation could remain elevated for some time to come amid fears higher expectations become entrenched. Bullard’s business contacts in his Fed district and around…