The Federal Reserve should launch a fresh round of monetary stimulus immediately, buying bonds for as long as it takes to produce a steady decline in the jobless rate, a top Fed official said on Monday. "I don't think we should be in a mode where we are waiting to see what the next few data releases bring," Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Hong Kong Bankers Club. "We are well past the threshold for additional action; we should take that action now." The U.S. central bank on August 1 kept U.S. monetary policy on hold, leaving interest rates at zero and ... (full story)