Weather seems to blame for U.S. slowdown, Fed's Yellen says

Testifying to the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen said the Fed would watch carefully to ensure weather was indeed the culprit, but she reiterated that it would take a "significant change" to the economy's prospects for the Fed to put plans to wind down its bond-buying program on hold. Some investors think the Fed could alter its plans if a report on February hiring next week shows similar weakness. I think it's clear that ... unseasonably cold weather has played some role in much of that," Yellen, the Fed's former vice chair who took the reins on February 1, told lawmakers. After more than five years of ultra easy monetary policy in the wake of the 2007-2009 recession, the Fed is taking the first small steps towards a more normal footing.

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