Fed Blames Sandy for Economic Slowdown
Posted at 8 a.m. on Jan. 31
The Federal Open Market Committee released its latest policy statement, keeping current programs in place and blaming the slow year-end growth on Hurricane Sandy.
Key line: “growth in economic activity paused in recent months, in large part because of weather-related disruptions and other transitory factors.”
Neil Irwin: “Fed leaders implicitly acknowledged that since they last met in December, the successful resolution of the fiscal cliff, improvement in Europe’s financial crisis, and the marked rise in the markets have meant that ‘strains in global financial markets have eased somewhat.’”
