The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to continue removing policy accommodation gradually and could hike rates three times this year, Dallas Fed President Robert S. Kaplan told a business conference in Frankfurt on Thursday. Kaplan said recent market volatility in itself was not enough to change his base scenario, although he was “highly vigilant” about the turbulence and would study whether it has any effect on the real economy. “At this point, I don’t see this market adjustment spilling over into financial conditions - but I’ll be watching carefully,” Kaplan, a non-voting member of the Fed’s policy committee, told ... (full story)