Still the same: The Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates after its two-day meeting, but it could raise rates later this year when it meets again. The New York Times reports the move shows the Fed does not think the growth shown by the domestic economy can be sustained. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellin says the vote not to raise the rate was a close call. “The recovery from the Great Recession has advanced sufficiently far and domestic spending has been sufficiently robust that an argument can be made for a rise in interest rates at this time,” Yellen says. Read the full story.
One thing leads to another: Worldwide oil futures continued sliding this afternoon after the Federal Reserve announced that U.S. interest rates would not be changed. There was some movement on the prices before the Fed’s decision, but after the decision was announced, both U.S. and Brent crude lost any momentum they had gained. “The oil market will go back to watching to see if the economic slowdown in China spreads to other economies and whether low oil prices start to lower U.S. oil production significantly,” Gene McGillian, senior analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, tells Reuters. Read the full story.
Around the bend: White House spokesman Josh Earnest urged congressional Republicans to “not play the same game of chicken with the budget of the federal government” and to negotiate with Democrats so that “this time we can dispense with the drama of government shutdown.” That was July 22. Nearly two months later, Congress and the White House are flirting with yet another government closure, with just 13 days left in this fiscal year. As The Washington Post reports, Democrats are pressing for an infrastructure spending program, tax credits for middle-class families, higher tax rates on capital gains and greater domestic spending. Republicans favor more military spending and cuts in non-military expenditures, and they insist that a budget should eliminate funding for President Obama’s health care law and for Planned Parenthood. Read the full story.
