FEDERAL RESERVE

The Federal Reserve is considering allowing maturing Treasury bonds to roll off its portfolio as an alternative way to drain reserves from the banking system, according to minutes from its March meeting.

The drop in U.S. inflation since mid-2008 is not just a narrow reflection of housing market weakness but is rather a sign of broad economic slack, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said Monday.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet fell in the latest week, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

The U.S. economic recovery is gathering speed as business activity picks up pace, despite lingering weakness in employment, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said on Tuesday.

Monetary policy is not an effective tool for pricking asset bubbles, but central banks without authority to supervise banks may have no alternative, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy is still appropriate because of high unemployment and minimal inflationary pressures in the United States, a Fed policymaker said on Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve's unprecedented dose of stimulus to the economy during the recent financial crisis complicates the task of pulling back when the time is right, top central bank officials said on Friday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet rose to a record high in the latest week, surpassing the previous week's record level, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

A modest U.S. economic recovery still warrants the Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rate policy, but the central bank stands ready to remove stimulus once the expansion looks solid, Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

A bumpy U.S. recovery and subdued inflation warrant the central bank's promise to keep benchmark interest rates low for an extended period, a senior Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

A bumpy U.S. recovery and subdued inflation warrant the Federal Reserve's promise to keep benchmark interest rates low for an extended period, a senior Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve has not been clear enough about how it intends to unwind its unprecedented monetary easing campaign, and some of the tools it expects to use may not work, monetary experts will tell Congress on Thursday.

U.S. financial reform should include some form of the Volcker rule, which would limit large financial firms' ability to engage in speculative trading, Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank said on Wednesday.

Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, said on Wednesday U.S. financial reform should include some form of the Volcker rule, which would limit large financial firms' ability to engage in speculative trading.

Central bankers should base policy on simple rules related to inflation and economic growth and not rely on hazy measures of economic slack in order to stay ahead of the curve, a senior U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve may be required to make public some of its records on emergency lending programs to banks in the financial bailout, an appeals court ruled on Friday in cases brought by news organizations.

The head of the House of Representatives' Oversight Committee said on Friday he had asked the Federal Reserve to provide all documents relating to a rule waiver that allowed then-New York Fed Board Chairman Stephen Friedman to hold and purchase stock in Goldman Sachs Gorup .

The Philly Fed manufacturing report confirms that the labor market is stabilizing, although it also reports nascent inflationary pressures for manufacturers.

Presidents of regional Federal Reserve banks on Thursday defended their role in supervising small banks, and said ending it would cut a link between the central bank and the national heartland.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig said on Thursday that stripping the central bank of its oversight of smaller banks was inconceivable and would hurt monetary policy.

Top central bankers present and past on Wednesday joined forces against a plan to strip the Fed of its oversight of smaller banks, saying the knowledge it gains from that role is vital to monetary policy.