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With a smile is hard to hide, Stanley Fischer was able to relax and report that the Federal Reserve is encouraged by the numbers. The economy and the prospects for recovery are approaching projections aided by job growth that has been” remarkably resilient”. Speaking at conference in Aspen, Mr. Fisher stated that barring food and energy prices, inflation is close to only 2 %. Food and energy prices are frequently the wild card, and accurate projection of future costs, have been unreliable. Job growth continues to climb, while not as rapidly as 2015, a steady improvement is noticeable and welcomed.

Speaking at a conference in Aspen, Mr. Fisher stated that barring food and energy prices, inflation is close to only 2 %. Food and energy prices are frequently the wild card, and accurate projection of future costs, have been unreliable. Job growth continues to climb, while not as rapidly as 2015, a steady improvement is noticeable and welcomed.

Even with the shadow of the Greek debt crisis, the strength of the dollar, and other frequent financial pitfalls, the labor market continues to improve. Evidenced by an unemployment rate that is close to a natural state and increased employment in most sectors.

Mr. Fischer spent time acknowledging the recovery efforts post-recession as they may be easy to overlook. It is a concerted effort of all to return to near full employment following the financial crisis.

Of course, the elephant in the room could not be addressed. Interest rates will be the topic of conversation on Friday when the Federal Reserve Chairperson, Janet Yellen, will finally issue the interest rates, following months of conjecture.

A major concern that could be addressed, however, was the downturn in the past few years of US productivity growth. This is measured by soft wage gains, declining business investment, and underwhelming business growth. If this decline continues, it would affect job and wage growth. Productivity could be stimulated by business investing in assets to aid output of employees, as opposed to adding more employees.

It has been an expectation that the Feds will raise interest rates this year contingent upon the continued economic recovery gains.