Fed ready to hike rates at anytime this year

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester laid out an aggressive plan for reducing easy-money policies this year, saying the Central Bank will be ready to hike rates at any meeting and should be looking at shedding mortgage-backed securities it is holding.

“Each meeting is going to be in play,” Mester said Wednesday at a virtual event hosted by the European Economics and Financial Centre. “We’re going to assess conditions, we’re going to assess how the economy’s evolving, we’re going to be looking at the risks, and we’re going to be removing accommodation.”

Her comments come with markets widely expecting the Fed to raise its benchmark short-term borrowing rate at its March meeting. - CNBC