SCA has Moved

Stevens County Assembly has a new website at: www.StevensCountyAssembly.com. Republic Assembly (RepublicAssembly.com) will continue to be an education website; will now focus more on National issues. Whereas, the new Stevens County Assembly website (www.StevensCountyAssembly.com) will be more Stevens County and Washington orientated.

Federal Reserve

Dollar falls to new low as markets await Fed's next move

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(UK Guardian) Ben Bernanke, chairman of Federal Reserve, expected to maintain loose monetary policy.

The US dollar has fallen to new lows against other major currencies, undermined by predictions that the US would continue to resist pressure to raise interest rates.

In early trading, the dollar dropped to its weakest level ever against the Swiss franc, having touched a record low against the Australian dollar overnight. It also hit a four-week low against the yen, while the dollar index, which measures it against a basket of rival currencies, was close to its lowest level since August 2008.

The fall came a few hours ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's monthly two-day meeting to set monetary policy.

Federal Reserve: 1st News Press Conference

Date: 
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 11:15am
Federal Reserve: 1st News Press Conference

U.S. economic policy is soon to have what it never had before -- a personality to go with key decisions.

For the first time for a Federal Reserve chief, after the next Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday, Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press conference to review the bank's latest maneuver, which may be the least surprising part of the show.

Event type: 
United States

Federal Reserve: Historical 1st Press Conference

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The April 27 news conference, the first in the Federal Reserve's history, begins at 2:15 p.m. ET when the quarterly forecast from the Federal Open Markets Committee is issued. Bernanke then makes an opening statement followed by questions for the next 45 minutes or so.

Two economists think Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's first news conference next Wednesday will allow him to limit any market volatility after the Fed releases its monetary policy statement earlier that day.

"He has to be responsive to how the market reacts to the statement and how he guides that response in the way that he wants it," Rick Matus, a UBS senior economist, told CNBC Thursday.

"He needs to know going into that press conference what the market got wrong at 12:30 (p.m., when the statement is released) and where he wants the market to end at 3 (p.m.)."

Matus said the event will provide more clarity on what the Fed thinks.

"People talk about transparency and clarity as if they’re the same thing," Matus said. "What we have now is plenty of transparency. We have no clarity. If Bernanke can provide us with more insight into where the Fed is actually headed, that’ll be a positive."

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