AB - The Economy and Fed Policy

Real GDP growth rose by a 0.7% annualized rate in the fourth quar- ter, hurt by continuing cutbacks in energy capital spending, inventory liquidation and foreign trade. The bruising impact of cutbacks in energy capital spending isn’t over, but the major brunt of it is in the rear. Yet negative feedback from weak global growth and currency shifts is still in the offing, and policymakers are likely to focus more on those forces in 2016, resulting—at best—in a very gradual lift in official rates.