International News

WASHINGTON, (APP/AFP): President Barack Obama and Federal
Reserve chair Janet Yellen discussed the outlook for economic growth and progress from Wall Street reform during a meeting Monday, the White House said.
Obama met with Yellen in the Oval Office “as part of an ongoing
dialogue on the state of the economy,” it said in a statement.
“They discussed both the near and long-term growth outlook, the state
of the labor market, inequality, and potential risks to the economy, both in the United States and globally,” it added.
Obama and Yellen “also discussed the significant progress that has
been made through the continued implementation of Wall Street Reform to strengthen our financial system and protect consumers.”
Last month, the Fed cut its outlook for the US economy and kept its
interest rate policy unchanged, citing the impact of the global slowdown and
turmoil in world markets.
In revisions to its buoyant December forecasts, the Federal Open
Market Committee, the Fed’s policy body, said it expected the US economy to grow only 2.2 percent this year.
According to recently released minutes from their March 15-16
meeting, Fed policymakers were broadly worried about the threat of slower global growth to the US economy.