The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, a choice that may intensify questions about how US central bank chief Kevin Warsh will deliver on his commitment to bring inflation back down to the 2 per cent target. The widely expected decision to leave the benchmark interest rate in the 3.50 per cent to 3.75 per cent range drew dissents from three of the 12 members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee who “preferred” a quarter-percentage-point hike at this...
Since being sworn in as US Federal Reserve chairman on May 22, Kevin Warsh has struck a distinctly hawkish tone. At his first press conference at the helm of the world’s most important central bank on June 17, Warsh made a solemn vow to curb inflation. He said members of the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee were “unambiguous and unanimous. This committee will deliver price stability”. Bond investors who questioned Warsh’s inflation-fighting credibility – given that he built his candidacy...