Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the central bank will be "patient and flexible" in determining when to hike interest rates. But Powell soothed those fears with a message that the course for rates is not predetermined, and also that the underlying economy is performing just fine below the surface. "We are in a place where we can be patient and flexible," Powell said. Powell was asked by David Rubenstein, a founder of the Carlyle Group where Powell worked for nearly a decade before joining the central bank, if criticisms from U.S. President Donald Trump were having any impact on Fed decisions. "If we have a longer shutdown I think that would show up in the data pretty clearly," Powell said.

Source: CBC News January 10, 2019 17:37 UTC