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Empresas y finanzas

Yellen strongly defends easy Fed policies, cites labor slack


    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Monday the U.S. central bank's "extraordinary" commitment to boosting the economy, especially the still struggling labor market, will be needed for some time to come.

    Yellen, in her first public speech since becoming Fed chair two months ago, strongly defended the Fed's policies of low interest rates and continued bond-buying, saying there remains "considerable" slack in the economy and job market.

    "I think this extraordinary commitment is still needed and will be for some time, and I believe that view is widely shared by my fellow policy-makers at the Fed," Yellen said at the 2014 National Interagency Community Reinvestment Conference.

    (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by James Dalgleish)