Wall Street Journal (02/24/15) Jon Hilsenrath

Speaking before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Janet Yellen, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said that if the economy continues to strengthen as expected and officials grow more confident that inflation will rise closer to the 2% goal, the central bank “will at some point begin considering an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate.” She said that an interest rate increase is unlikely before June and stated that the Fed will consider rate hikes on a meeting-to-meeting basis. “The employment situation in the [U.S.] has been improving on many dimensions,” Yellen said. Her testimony signaled that the central bank is moving toward discussions of when and how fast rates will rise.