Following the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced at 3am on Thursday, Taiwan time, its decision to increase the target of the federal funds rate by 25 basis points — 0.25 percent — to a range of 0.50 percent to 0.75 percent, a move that markets predicted a 100 percent probability of. The decision was passed on a unanimous vote.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which is responsible for interest rate policy decisions, made the decision to increase the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, citing actual and predicted labor market conditions and inflation as reasons for the decision.
The FOMC statement says that, according to recent information, “the labor market has continued to strengthen, and … economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace since mid-year,” and that “household spending has been rising moderately but business fixed investment has remained soft.”
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
The Fed said that US inflation expectations have increased significantly, and inflation will continue to approach the 2 percent target, with the unemployment rate continuing to fall.
This is the second time the Fed has increased the rate since last December, this increase coming a year after that move, and the second rate hike in almost 10 years. All eyes were on how the Fed officials would view the US’ economic outlook and the speed of interest rate hikes for 2017 in what was the first Fed policy committee meeting since US president-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.
(Translated by Paul Cooper)
美國聯準會結束兩天政策例會,於台灣時間週四凌晨三點宣布升息一碼(零點二五個百分點),基準的聯邦資金利率目標區間提高至介於百分之零點五到百分之零點七五區間,符合市場百分百認定升息的預期。這項升息決策為官員一致投票通過。
負責利率決策的聯邦公開市場委員會聲明援引「已實現及預期的勞動市場條件和通膨」為理由,提高基準利率一碼。
該聲明指出,近期資訊顯示,「勞動市場已繼續增強,經濟活動自今年年中以來持續以溫和速度擴張」;消費支出「溫和增加」,但商業固定投資「仍舊疲弱」。
聯準會認為,美國通膨預期已經「大幅」提高,穩定邁向百分之二目標,且失業率進一步下滑。
這是聯準會自去年十二月以來、時隔一年後再度升息,也是近十年來第二度升息。且因此為川普贏得美國總統大選後聯準會的首次例會,各界都十分關注決策官員對美國經濟前景及二○一七年升息速度的看法。
(自由時報記者楊芙宜)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110