DAYTON, Ohio (Reuters) – A second Federal Reserve official has suggested that U.S. interest rates may have to remain near zero until the unemployment rate falls as low as 5.5 percent, lower than the 6.5 percent threshold the U.S. central bank has in mind.

Charles Evans, head of the Chicago Fed and an influential dove at the central bank, said on Thursday rates could stay at rock bottom until joblessness falls to 5.5 percent from the current lofty 7.7 percent, as long as inflation expectations remain lower than the Fed’s 2-percent goal.

DAYTON, Ohio, April 4 (Reuters) – Two top policymakers at
the U.S. Federal Reserve gave cautious endorsements of the Bank
of Japan’s aggressive move to boost the Japanese economy, saying
on Thursday it could help economies globally.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and Charles Evans of
the Chicago Fed expressed hope that the BoJ would finally be
able to get the Japanese economy back on track after two decades
of stagflation.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, April 3 (Reuters) – Investors trying
to assess when the Federal Reserve will start to trim its
economic stimulus via massive asset purchases would do well to
track any progress Washington makes in reaching a budget deal.

While the Fed’s public focus on the U.S. jobs market has
drawn the most scrutiny, fear of fiscal austerity was a major
reason the Fed embarked on the current round of bond buying that
injects money into the economy and keeps longer-term interest
rates low.