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FILE PHOTO: Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester speaks in London, Britain, July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Marc Jones
(Reuters) - U.S. monetary policy will stay accommodative for a “very long time” because the economy is far from the Federal Reserve’s goals for maximum employment and price stability, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said Monday.
“We’re going to be accommodative for a very long time because the economy just needs it to get back on its feet,” Mester said during a virtual discussion organized by the Toledo Rotary Club.
The policymaker repeated her view that economic activity could pick up in the second half of the year after most Americans have been vaccinated. But until then, fiscal aid that speeds up vaccine distribution and supports workers who are unemployed or underemployed could help stabilize the economy, Mester said.
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin told the Financial Times https://on.ft.com/3p2FEpe newspaper the U.S. economy still needed support despite fears of a jump in prices.
The head of the IMF on Friday urged advanced economies to provide more resources to low-income countries, warning of an emerging "Great Divergence" in global growth that could risk stability and trigger social unrest for years to come.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday withdrew from consideration Donald Trump’s contentious nomination of Judy Shelton to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve.
Trump had hoped to secure Shelton’s confirmation before leaving office, but her nomination stalled after the Republican-controlled Senate failed to muster the required votes to move her nomination ahead in the confirmation process.
Trump had re-nominated Shelton and over 30 other individuals for key judgeships and other posts in early January.
Shelton’s nomination ran into trouble in November after a couple of Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the former Trump economic adviser out of concern that her perceived partisanship could imperil the Fed’s independence.