Gold Advances to Week-High as U.S. Jobs Data Clouds Rate Outlook

Gold climbed for a second day after data showing the weakest pace of U.S. hiring in more than a year clouded the outlook for interest-rate increases.

US inflation rate remains negative

US inflation remained negative in January due to steep falls in the price of petrol, official figures have shown.

Fed's Williams: Interest rate hikes after liftoff should be gradual

(Reuters) - A top Federal Reserve policymaker said on Monday that the pace of interest-rate hikes after an initial liftoff should be gradual to preserve flexibility and to help a U.S. economy that still may need stimulus.

Janet Yellen warns on growing inequality in the US

US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said that she was "greatly concerned" about rising inequality in the US. "I think it is appropriate to ask whether [growing inequality] is compatible with values rooted in our nation's history," she said in a speech in Boston on Friday.

Markets More in Agreement than Fed on Interest Rate Path

Financial-market participants are in closer agreement about where the Federal Reserve will steer interest rates than the central bank’s own policy makers, according to a study by the New York Fed.

U.S. Stocks Extend Record in Week as Jobs Data Boost Fed Bets

U.S. stocks rose a fifth week, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) its longest rally this year, as investors speculated weaker jobs growth will prevent the Federal Reserve from raising rates sooner than anticipated.

Economy needs consumers to chip in

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy is revved up and ready to go by most measures except for, perhaps, the most critical one: The consumer.

European Stocks Little Changed as Espirito Santo Declines

European stocks were little changed as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting and as Banco Espirito Santo SA led Portuguese stocks to this year’s low.

Security detail for Fed chairwoman irks neighbors

WASHINGTON—In the Georgetown gated community of Hillandale, residents live in secluded calm governed by some 50 pages of rules banning fences, motorcycles, certain paint colors, tree species and excess dogs and cats (no more than two total per household).

Americans still hesitant to spend more

Personal income rose 0.4% in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It may not sound like much, but it marked the fifth straight month in a row that incomes rose.

Weak U.S. prices, not inflation, the threat now: Fed's Yellen

(Reuters) - Persistently low inflation poses a more immediate threat to the U.S. economy than rising prices, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, stressing that the U.S. central bank would be delivering policy stimulus for some time to come.

US economy grew 2.4% in fourth quarter

Washington (AFP) - The US economy grew more slowly late last year than previously thought, but there was enough vigor that the Federal Reserve will likely continue reducing its stimulus program, analysts said.

Inflation, strangely low, holds key to 2014 US Federal Reserve policy

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK: Stubbornly weak inflation is shaping up as the wild card for US monetary policy makers this year, with top Federal Reserve officials stumped by why it has lingered so low for so long and at odds as to what to do about it.

Improving US jobs growth led to Federal Reserve taper

Federal Reserve members mostly agreed about a reduction in the central bank's stimulus efforts in December, meeting minutes released Wednesday reveal.