Obama, Fed chief discuss growth, Wall Street reform

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

US President Barack Obama speaks to the press following a meeting with financial regulators at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2016 to receive an update on their progress in implementing Wall Street reform. AFP photo

U.S. President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen discussed the outlook for economic growth and progress from Wall Street reform during a meeting April 11, the White House said.

Obama met with Yellen in the Oval Office “as part of an ongoing dialogue on the state of the economy,” it said in a statement.

“They discussed both the near and long-term growth outlook, the state of the labor market, inequality, and potential risks to the economy, both in the United States and globally,” it added.

Obama and Yellen “also discussed the significant progress that has been made through the continued implementation of Wall Street Reform to strengthen our financial system and protect consumers.”

Last month, the Fed cut its outlook for the US economy and kept its interest rate policy unchanged, citing the impact of the global slowdown and turmoil in world markets.

In revisions to its buoyant December forecasts, the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s policy body, said it expected the US economy to grow only 2.2 percent this year.

According to recently released minutes from their March 15-16 meeting, Fed policymakers were broadly worried about the threat of slower global growth to the U.S. economy.