US interest rates to remain unchanged

Resilient US economic growth will keep inflation from fading and persuade Federal Reserve policy makers to leave interest rates unchanged this year, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). The forecast, based on the median of 47 estimates, is a shift from the group's November survey in which economists projected the Fed would start cutting rates in the second half of 2007. The central bank will drop its target rate in the first quarter of 2008, according to the recent poll. Economic growth, still hampered by slowdowns in housing and manufacturing, ...