monetary policy

Here's a quick primer on the Fed, why you never want a central bank to have to do anything, and the reason why we all hang on Ben Bernanke's every word.

The Federal Reserve offered a more positive view of the economy after a burst of hiring since its last meeting. It held off taking further steps to boost the recovery and reiterated its plan to keep short-term interest rates near zero until at least late 2014. The Fed's statement issued after Tuesday's one-day meeting was more upbeat than the one it released in January.

The Federal Reserve says the economy has grown moderately as hiring and consumer spending have improved. As a result, it's holding off on any new steps to boost the economy. But Fed officials, noting that unemployment remains high and global economic growth has slowed, left open the possibility of taking new steps next year if the economy worsens.

The Federal Reserve is holding off on any new actions to help the economy because stronger growth is giving it time to gauge the impact of steps it's already taken. Fed policymakers made the announcement after a two-day meeting.

Earlier this year, the Utah state legislature passed a law making gold and silver coins legal tender. Now, a Salt Lake City-area numismatist hopes to set up a depository system that will allow Utahans to use gold and silver to pay for anything they want.

One would think that with the Mideast crisis, oil prices skyrocketing and U.S. manufacturing rebounding smartly, the buck would be flying high. But no. Why that's so may lie in international perceptions about where interest rates are heading.

Having committed itself to ultralow interest rates and quantitative easing, the Fed is now caught in a double bind: Continue those policies and keep pumping money into speculative, inflation-hiking commodity bets -- or end them and let rates rise, with the harmful economic impact.

Given an economy gaining steam and a vast expansion in the money supply, it's easy to assume a wave of inflation is up next. The causes of inflation, however, are anything but straightforward -- which is something investors need to remember.

A new report from the Philadelphia Fed shows America's manufacturing sector is strongly bouncing back. Not only are firms reporting booming activity, strong shipments of goods and more unfilled orders, but jobs are being created at the highest rate in 38 years.

Rising food and energy prices will likely hit America the same way they've hit other countries. Other inflationary forces are more variable from nation to nation. Still, the U.S. can't fully escape rising prices, especially when it comes those common consumer necessities.