Fed to Shine Light on Interest Rate Plans (The Hill)

In another move to increase transparency, the Federal Reserve will begin forecasting interest rate activity in its package of economic predictions, released four times per year. Previously, the predictions have centered on economic growth, unemployment, and inflation. The once shadowy institution has made a number of shifts in recent months to bring its rationale more into the open, most notably by offering Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke up for regular press conferences several times a year following Fed decisions. This latest move has received some criticism from opponents, who think publishing the information could cause the public to think these are firm predictions on the movement of interest rates, rather than predictions on how interest rates will respond to projected economic performance.