Fed officials worried about withdrawal of government support, minutes show
The central bank warned the withdrawal of government aid could hurt the economy's early recovery
BlackRock global fixed income CIO Rick Rieder says the Federal Reserve isn't going to touch the interest rates for a very long time and believes they're going to grow the size of their balance sheet. He later discusses the possible economic recovery in the second half of the year, how the American markets are reacting to coronavirus and big tech stocks.
U.S. consumers lifted their spending in May and June but businesses remained cautious because of the tremendous uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, Federal Reserve officials said at a policy meeting last month.
FED UNDERSCORES SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY THREATENED BY VIRUS RESURGENCE
The nascent economic recovery faces several risks, Fed officials said in discussions during their most recent meeting on July 28-29. Those risks include another outbreak of the coronavirus and that the U.S. government would pull back on the financial relief it had provided to households, businesses and state and local governments.
At its July meeting, the Fed decided to keep the short-term interest rate it controls pinned at near zero and to continue its bond purchases of about $80 billion of Treasuries and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities each month.
TOP FED OFFICIAL SUGGESTS US ECONOMY MAY BE LOSING STEAM
Those bond buys are intended to inject cash into financial markets to keep credit flowing, and to hold down interest rates.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also warned at a news conference following the meeting that resurgent viral outbreaks in June and July threatened to weaken the economy.
The Fed added a new sentence to the statement it issues after each meeting: “The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus.”
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