Fed Chair: Economic Recovery Might Allow Cutting Stimulus Programs 

The chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday that the nation’s economy continues to recover from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it might be time to consider scaling back some emergency programs the central bank implemented to stimulate that recovery, though he indicated that might not happen soon. 

In a speech delivered virtually to an annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve remained committed to supporting the economy “as long as is needed to achieve full recovery.” The Fed has been buying $120 billion a month in mortgage and Treasury bonds to try to hold down longer-term loan interest rates to spur borrowing and spending. Powell’s comments indicated the Fed would most likely announce a reduction or “tapering” of those purchases sometime in the final three months of this year. Still some uncertainty