Fed holds rates at 3.5%-3.75% as Warsh starts overhaul
What's new: The new chair set up task forces on inflation, data, jobs, communications and the balance sheet while withholding his own rate forecast.
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday in the first policy meeting under Chair Kevin Warsh, while signaling broader changes in how the central bank operates. Warsh said the rate-setting committee had a single proposal before it and approved it unanimously. He also laid out task forces focused on communications, the balance sheet, data, productivity and jobs, and the Fed's inflation framework, pairing internal staff with outside experts he is still selecting. Warsh declined to submit his own projection to the Summary of Economic Projections, including the dot plot, even as other policymakers did. He framed the shift as part of a push to make the Fed more restrained and more focused on inflation.