By JIM PUZZANGHER
Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday kept the central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate near zero, opting against the first increase since 2006 after determining the economy still isn’t strong enough to handle it.
Fed officials sharply downgraded their economic forecast for this year. They projected the economy would grow between 1.8% and 2% this year, well below the range of 2.3% to 2.7% in its last forecast in March.
If they’re correct, annual growth would be the worst since 2011 and would be far from the breakout performance some economists had hoped for this year.
In a statement after its two-day policymaking meeting, Fed officials said the economy “has been expanding moderately” after having improved little during the first quarter.
While the housing market “has shown some improvement,” central bank policymakers said exports and investments by businesses have been soft.
Central bank policymakers were less optimistic about improvements in the unemployment rate than they were three months ago, though they noted that the pace of job gains had improved.
https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-federal-reserve-interest-rate-20150617-story.html
Nobody will lose money by wagering that the Fed won’t raise it’s short term interest rate anytime soon. FEDGOV can’t afford to pay the debt carrying costs such an increase would trigger. Does anyone think the current t resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would put up with that kind of assault on his spending priorities?
NJ economy has been lagging the national and regional economy all through this recovery, and now the economy’s growing less than 2% nationally. So why are our local property taxes up 2% this year when there’s no inflation and no growth?
Rates will stay low to bolster the corrupt Obama administration
We’ll see if they rise after the next election