Wall Street Journal (07/16/14) Jon Hilsenrath
The labor market has improved more quickly than expected, but the U.S. Federal Reserve should remain cautious about increasing interest rates, according to Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Rates should remain at near zero until inflation stabilizes at 2%, he says, though some Fed officials believe the U.S. should consider raising short-term interest rates due to lower than predicted unemployment levels.
“I’m still in the camp that thinks that it has been our appropriate monetary policy that has helped set the table for businesses to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them and hire more workers, and the consumer to do better,” Evans says. “I think that is going to continue to be appropriate well into 2015.”