By Reuters Staff
(Adds discussion of inflation)
WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Fiscal policy will remain an important economic prop in the United States until the pandemic subsides, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George said on Tuesday, with inflation unlikely to pose a near-term problem even with record levels of public debt.
George did not comment specifically about the $1.9 trillion spending plan the Biden administration is hoping to push through Congress, but in comments to a real estate symposium she noted how government programs last year kept the economy afloat through the first months of the pandemic.
It is still needed, she said in comments to a symposium organized by the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will present the central bank's semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress next week, appearing at a hearing on Feb. 23 before the Senate Banking Committee, according to an update to the committee's calendar https://www.banking.senate.gov.
The cost of so-called 'stranded assets' as the world moves away from fossil fuels could cause substantial falls in exporters' sovereign credit ratings in the coming decades, a new report from Fitch said on Monday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is kicking off a renewed effort to overhaul rules around money market funds, soliciting public input on how to reform the sector.