Ben Bernanke’s press conference – live coverage

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke holds a press conference on the state of the US economy. Follow it here live 2.10pm ET: You can watch Ben Bernanke in his full glory live via this video stream helpfully provided by the Federal Reserve. 2.01pm ET: And this just in from the Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached table and charts summarizing the economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Federal Reserve Bank presidents for the June 21-22 meeting of the Committee. Everyone likes large PDF files of charts, right. Well here they are . 1.50pm ET: Just before the Bernanke press conference kicks off, the Federal Open Markets Committee has issued its latest decision on monetary policy – and the news is (as expected) no change in interest rates. The devil is in the detail, as always. In its accompanying statement the FOMC said: Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April indicates that the economic recovery is continuing at a moderate pace, though somewhat more slowly than the Committee had expected. Also, recent labor market indicators have been weaker than anticipated. The slower pace of the recovery reflects in part factors that are likely to be temporary, including the damping effect of higher food and energy prices on consumer purchasing power and spending as well as supply chain disruptions associated with the tragic events in Japan. Household spending and business investment in equipment and software continue to expand. However, investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector continues to be depressed. Inflation has picked up in recent months, mainly reflecting higher prices for some commodities and imported goods, as well as the recent supply chain disruptions. However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable. Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The unemployment rate remains elevated; however, the Committee expects the pace of recovery to pick up over coming quarters and the unemployment rate to resume its gradual decline toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Inflation has moved up recently, but the Committee anticipates that inflation will subside to levels at or below those consistent with the Committee’s dual mandate as the effects of past energy and other commodity price increases dissipate. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations. To promote the ongoing economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 per cent. The Committee continues to anticipate that economic conditions – including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run – are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period. The Committee will complete its purchases of $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of this month and will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate. The Committee will monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will act as needed to best foster maximum employment and price stability. Now then, what does all that mean in English? Let’s discuss that. For only the second time, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will take the microphone for an open press conference today at 2.15pm ET – at a moment when fears that the US economy is sliding back into recession, thanks to anaemic growth, lacklustre job creation and the lasting effects of the financial market and housing meltdown going back three years. The climate for the US economy has certainly got worse since Bernanke debut press conference – and this afternoon appearance before the media should see more probing questions about how the Federal reserve intends to handle monetary policy going forward. Join us here as we watch Bernanke in action in Washington DC – and feel free to leave your comments below. Ben Bernanke US economy US economic growth and recession US Interest rates Economics United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 22, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.