Fed officials, however, were split in their thinking about when they would start raising interest rates, with about half predicting liftoff next year and the other half in 2023. And the sagging incomes and COVID-related job losses of that segment of the population remain a major drag on recovery. The Fed had been contemplating plans to start reversing its nontraditional stimulus program — large-scale government bond purchases meant to spur lending and investment. At the top of Fed officials’ concerns is the virulent Delta variant of the coronavirus, which appears to be slowly trending down in terms of new cases but has hit parts of the country very hard. But in the past, even taking it close to the wire has been costly to markets and the economy.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 22, 2021 19:06 UTC