Research

Economic Report: Fed Holds Interest Rates Again

Dr. Rick Harper associate vice president of research and economic opportunity.
Dr. Rick Harper, associate vice president of research and economic opportunity.

Weighing the most recent economic indicators, the Federal Reserve opted once again to not raise interest rates. In this week’s “Economic Report,” Dr. Rick Harper, who leads the University of West Florida Center for Research and Economic Opportunity, spoke with WUWF 88.1-FM’s Sandra Averhart about how that decision affects those who rely on their savings, particularly in Florida.

“(Commenters) feel the interest rate needs to return to more normal levels,” Harper said. “Savers can’t make a dollar. We have a lot of savers in Florida; retirees tend to be the ones who accumulated assets during their working careers. But, they need to earn a return on those assets, and the Fed keeping interest rates so low for so long has forced them into riskier investment deals.”

To read the complete report, click here.