By Steven K. Beckner

LONDON (MNI) - Federal Reserve policymakers have plenty to discuss at Tuesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, but it seems unlikely any new departures will be announced after the one-day session.

By Brai Odion-Esene

ARLINGTON, Va. (MNI) - Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans Tuesday sought to calm any concerns about inflation, saying the slow recovery and high unemployment has brought prices down "dramatically," and also reaffirmed his support of the central bank's accommodative monetary policy.

NEW YORK (MNI) - The following is the recap of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's outright purchases of agencies securities, which add to the size of the Fed's System Open Market Account (SOMA) portfolio:

Fed purchases now total $170.7 billion toward its March 31 $175B target.

By Brai Esene

ARLINGTON, Va. (MNI) - Restrictive credit and other headwinds are "abating" this year, but for those 40% of the unemployed without a job six months or more, even an improvement in the unemployment rate may not help as much as hoped, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said Tuesday morning.

By Heather Scott

ARLINGTON, Va. (MNI) - The central bank is preparing for one of the most complex tightening cycles it has ever faced but has the tools needed and is in position to minimize the risk of the dueling factors, a senior Federal Reserve official said Monday.

NEW YORK (MNI) - The following statement was issued Monday morning by the New York Federal Reserve Bank:

Statement Regarding Counterparties for Reverse Repurchase Agreements

By Brai Odion-Esene

WASHINGTON (MNI) - A majority of respondents to a prominent survey of U.S. economists believe mortgage rates will rise once the Federal Reserve completes its planned purchases of mortgage-backed securities, but most are not in favor of "explicit subsidization" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as it would not promote the long-term health of the mortgage market.

FRANKFURT (MNI) - Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker told a German newspaper in an interview published Monday that he rejects the notion of increasing central banks' inflation targets.

Asked by Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to comment on the proposal of a paper published by the International Monetary Fund that central banks should allow higher inflation so the real cost of public debt will fall, Volcker retorted that the idea "is simply nonsense."