Even if the Federal Reserve had begun raising interest rates nine months earlier, US inflation wouldn't be any lower today than it is now.

The Federal Reserve remains committed to using all the tools at its disposal to help the U.S. economy recover from the blow delivered by the coronavirus pandemic, Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Americans on Thursday progress in controlling the spread of the coronavirus would determine when the economy reopens but assured them the Fed was taking every action to support a vigorous rebound when it comes.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates for the third time this year to help sustain U.S. growth despite a slowdown in other parts of the world, but signaled there would be no further reductions unless the economy takes a turn for the worse.

It would be the first increase since the rate was cut to near zero during the 2008 financial crisis.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday the central bank will likely keep at least some of its easy-money policies going "for the foreseeable future."

Markets plunged as Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman, said it would be "appropriate to moderate the monthly pace of purchases later this year" as long as the economy grows as expected.

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve did not offer ailing markets the short-term salve they were looking for Tuesday with an announcement of additional asset purchases in a bid to stimulate US growth, but the central bank did signal that its accommodative interest rate policy will remain in place until at least mid-2013.

Gold prices hit another record on August 9, slicing through the US$1,750-a-troy-ounce milestone as a massive sell-off in global equity markets drew safety-seeking investors to the metal.

The rise is partly because of good news: The outlook for growth has improved, putting less pressure on investors to keep their money in ultra-safe bonds. When there's less demand for bonds, their interest rates - or yield - go up to attract more investors.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday disclosed details of loans made to financial firms, companies and foreign central banks during the financial crisis. Fed officials said it is the biggest release of crisis lending data that a central bank has ever done.

The fed chairman is firing back, saying emerging market countries are causing problems for the world by preventing the strengthening of their currencies.

The US Federal Reserve has repeated its pledge to keep interest rates at record lows in order to nurture the economic recovery.

A slow and still-fragile recovery is taking hold across the US.

Economic weakness continued to spread across the nation as real estate markets remained in distress and consumers kept their pocketbooks closed, according to the latest Federal Reserve report on regional economic conditions.

Field Emission Technologies, a Japanese R&D firm spun out of Sony in 2006, announced that it is poised to mass produce 26-inch field-emission display (FED) panels by the end of 2009. Compared with other flat-panel technologies such as LCDs and plasma displays, FEDs have long been known for their superior performance, including higher contrast ratio, lower power consumption and wider viewing angle. Charles Spindt at SRI International developed the principles for FED technology in 1968.

OLED faces a renewed attack from rival technology Field Emission Displays (FED), after Sony spin-off Field Emission Technologies (FET) confirmed it will purchase Pioneer's plasma factory next year.