Courtesy of Mish.
Yellen Yap
On Thursday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen met with Senate Democrats at a private luncheon. She told the Democrats that the U.S. Economy is Strong.
My first thought was “what the heck is Yellen doing holding a private lunch with Democrats only?” Had she met with Senate Republicans, I would have asked the same question.
Apparently this is common procedure for Yellen, so perhaps I am reading too much into it.
Yet, I cannot help wondering if the real purpose of the meeting was to persuade Democrats to block any “Audit the Fed” Initiatives.
Glowing Report
Regardless of the reason, Yellen had some pretty glowing things to say.
“She went through the issues of unemployment and inflation. Very positive. And economic growth numbers were good, have been good. There’s work to be done,” Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said after the luncheon.
No Rate Hike Soon
Bloomberg reported Yellen Tells Senators No Rate Rise Soon Amid Concerns Abroad.
“Her message is that the economy’s getting better but there’s still a ways to go in terms of job creation,” New York Senator Charles Schumer said today in an interview on Capitol Hill. “That worry seems, in her mind, to be paramount and that’s why she is not going to raise rates immediately.”
The Fed upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy in a statement on Wednesday after a meeting of its policy-setting committee, while adding a reference to “international developments” which investors took as a sign of mounting worry about weakness overseas. …
