“New Federal Reserve News Agency” Nick Timiraos: Walsh gave a narrow interpretation of the intention to raise interest rates on Wednesday. He said, “We have taken back some of our easing efforts to make the financial and credit environment more in line with our ultimate goal.” This wording usually means that officials believe that even after Wednesday's policy adjustments, monetary policy is still biased towards easing. When asked about the current position of interest rates compared to economists' unobservable interest rate levels, which neither stimulate nor inhibit economic growth, Walsh did not agree with this interpretation. He said that this academic concept does not apply well to “all the decisions we need to make right now.”

“New Federal Reserve News Agency” Nick Timiraos: Walsh gave a narrow interpretation of the intention to raise interest rates on Wednesday. He said, “We have taken back some of our easing efforts to make the financial and credit environment more in line with our ultimate goal.” This wording usually means that officials believe that even after Wednesday's policy adjustments, monetary policy is still biased towards easing. When asked about the current position of interest rates compared to economists' unobservable interest rate levels, which neither stimulate nor inhibit economic growth, Walsh did not agree with this interpretation. He said that this academic concept does not apply well to “all the decisions we need to make right now.”