The Federal Reserve's monetary policy is currently not loose enough, said Narayana Kocherlakota, the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, on Tuesday. In a speech to the Financial Planning Association of Minnesota, Kocherlakota said the Fed should ease policy by telling financial markets that it won't lift off the easy policy setting until the unemployment rate falls to 5.5%. At its December meeting, the Fed told markets that it would likely hold short-term interest rates close to zero unless inflation forecasts spike. If the public believes the Fed will not begin raising the federal funds rate until the ... (full story)