Esther George

The Federal Reserve is set to lose one of its more diligent skeptics when Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, retires next month. Ms. George began her tenure at the central bank 40 years ago in the midst of the last episode of very high U.S. inflation. She became the Kansas City Fed’s president in 2011, when the economy was mired in the protracted and difficult recovery from the global financial crisis. The Federal Reserve is set to lose one of its more…

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Inflation is at risk of growing entrenched in the economy due to an overheated job market, and that will make it increasingly difficult for the Federal Reserve to bring inflation down without a recession, a central bank official said in an interview. “I’m looking at a labor market that is so tight, I don’t know how you continue to bring this level of inflation down without having some real slowing, and maybe we even have contraction in the economy to get there,” said Kansas City Fed…

Federal Reserve officials have signaled they are likely to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage point later this month, for the second straight meeting, as part of an aggressive effort to combat high inflation.Policy makers left the door open to a larger, full-percentage-point increase at the July 26-27 gathering. But some of them simultaneously poured cold water on the idea in recent interviews and public comments ahead of their premeeting quiet period, which began Saturday. Some officials pointed to signs that…

The Federal Reserve official who cast the sole vote opposing the central bank’s supersize rate rise last month is still worried monetary policy tightening may be happening more quickly than the economy and financial sector can absorb. “I’m certainly sympathetic to the view that interest rates need to increase rapidly, recognizing that current rates are out of sync with today’s economic landscape,” Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said in a speech text. “However, I am also…

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said Wednesday that its leader, Esther George, will retire in January due to age limits. Ms. George, who is a voting member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year, has led the Kansas City Fed since October 2011. Ms. George joined the regional Fed bank in 1982. She turns 65 in January, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Fed said. Over... The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said Wednesday that its leader, Esther George, will retire in…