1 The Policy Statement The committee is likely to strike the “patient” pledge from its policy statement, which would formally open the door to the possibility of a rate increase in June. Watch to see if it provides any other verbal guidance on the outlook for interest rates. The Fed could say, as Ms. Yellen did in recent congressional testimony, that it won’t start raising its benchmark short-term rate from near zero until it is “reasonably confident” inflation will move back toward the central bank’s 2% target. Employment Forecasts In December, Fed officials forecast the unemployment rate to be 5.2% to 5.3% by the ... (full story)