FEDERAL RESERVE (FED)

Attention this week will be on the Q&A part of Fed chair Janet Yellen’s semi-annual testimony to Congress (House Financial Services Committee on 12 July and Senate Banking Committee the next day). The Fed’s Monetary Policy Report, released Friday, provided little new information, reiterating gradual hikes, and gradual reduction of the balance sheet when it begins later this year. Indeed, the report largely echoed recent comments from Fed policymakers, as well as the FOMC’s June meeting.