Janet Yellen Speech Indicates Fed Will Rethink Interest-Rate Plans

(RECAP: The Federal Reserve has abandoned hope of raising interest rates at its next meeting in June, but Fed officials say they are still thinking seriously about raising rates in July or September. Janet Yellen, the Fed’s chairwoman, who said a few weeks ago that she expected the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate “in the coming months,” omitted those words from a Monday speech, indicating the reported weakness of job growth in May has caused the Fed to rethink its plans. But Ms. Yellen delivered a generally upbeat assessment of economic conditions. While describing the May jobs report as “concerning,” she also emphasized that it was just one piece of data and that other economic indicators, including wage growth, paint a considerably brighter picture.)

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Move to help housing authority expand services in Danville

(RECAP: The Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority expects to go its homeownership program office to Franklin Street this month. The go will help the program expand its services. The building will become the Center for Housing Education, and will house the homeownership coordinator’s office. It will be used for homeownership workshops, budgeting classes, and courses on obtaining loans and maintaining excellent credit. Classes also will give potential homeowners hands-on experience with typical repairs around the house.)

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Both Sides of the Aisle Urging GSE Reform

(RECAP: Just how huge of an issue is the GSEs’ dwindling capital buffer and the FHFA’s nearly eight-year long conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac becoming? So much of a concern that in mid-May, a coalition of 12 right-center organizations wrote a letter to Congress urging them to pass a GSE reform bill sponsored by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-South Carolina). But that’s not all—it’s so much of a concern that factions on both sides of the political aisle are petitioning Congress for change. Late last week, a group of 32 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to FHFA Director Mel Watt and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew asking them to reassess the Preferred Stock Buy Agreement policy that requires the GSEs’ capital buffer to be reduced to zero by January 1, 2018.)

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