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Fed to signal rate-hike plan in place despite soft economic data
The Federal Reserve will signal no change in its plans to gradually raise interest rates despite recent weakness in the economy. The government’s official scorecard for the U.S. economy in the first quarter pointed to the weakest growth in three years, although possibly limited by fleeting factors as the Fed has suspected. Gross domestic product increased at a meager 0.7% annual pace in the first three months of the year, down from 2.1% and 3.5% in the back half of 2016. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.9% increase. Fed officials have said repeatedly they believe the economy’s sluggish ... (full story)