Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to deliver the central bank’s semi-annual economic report to the U.S. Congress at 10:00 AM ET on Tuesday. Analysts and investors will focus on Yellen’s testimony for further clues on when the Fed will hike interest rates. Yellen is likely to give away very little in her prepared testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. But her answers to lawmakers’ questions will be critically dissected to get an insight into her views on the weak inflation and stagnant wage growth. The minutes from Fed’s January policy meeting revealed that a mid-year rate hike was highly unlikely. But events since that meeting, especially the robust January jobs report, may have altered the views of quite a few Fed officials....MOREAnd From FT Alphaville:
Five charts to help the Yellen-fest
As Fed Chair Janet Yellen prepares to answer questions from members of the US Senate’s banking committee on Tuesday, understanding the background is vital. Here are some charts presenting alternative measures Wall Street (mostly) hasn’t been looking at.
First, if you’re worrying about the deflation in the eurozone, the US is no different. Eurozone inflation is calculated without taking account of housing costs. Put the US on the same basis by stripping out “imputed rent” (calculated by surveys, complex maths and a finger in the air) and the US has exactly the same deflation problem as Europe....MORE
