Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a strong rate. Job gains have been strong, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has stayed low. Household spending and business fixed investment have grown strongly. On a 12-month basis, both overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy remain near 2 percent. Indicators of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance. Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to ... (full story)

The Federal Reserve upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy Wednesday but decided to skip another interest rate increase for now. In a widely expected move, the central bank's policymaking Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep the target range for its benchmark rate at 1.75 percent to 2 percent. However, the committee is widely expected to approve an increase at the September meeting, and a tweak in the language from the post-meeting statement could be a nod toward more monetary policy normalization. The statement said the labor market has "continued to strengthen," language consistent with the ... (full story)