2. Minutes: Fed officials concerned about coronavirus downturn's severity |
Federal Reserve officials expressed concerns during their early June meeting that the coronavirus pandemic was causing an economic downturn that would be the worst since the end of World War II, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday. Fed policy makers also noted that the job losses triggered by the crisis were hitting the hardest among low-wage workers, women, African Americans, and Hispanics. During the meeting, Fed leaders voted unanimously to keep their benchmark interest rate at a record low near zero, where they expected to leave it through 2022. President Trump, who before the pandemic criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates fast enough or sharply enough, said he was "getting more and more happy" with him. [The Associated Press] |
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