user: Still too early to tell if September hike will happen

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer speaks during an interview at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, August 28, 2015.

Fischer conceded that the recent market volatility will affect the Fed's decision making.

"If you don't understand the market volatility—and I'm sure we don't fully understand it now, there are many many analyses of what's going on—yes it does affect the timing of a decision you might want to make," he said.

Short-end bond yields turned slightly higher on Fischer's comments.

Former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said the vice chairman "did the right thing by being perfectly neutral."

On the international front, Stanley Fischer said the movements in the Chinese yuan will have "some small impact," but he cautioned that "we still got to wait and watch and see how this turns out."

He also said the direct effect of a Chinese slowdown on the U.S. economy will be "relatively small." He added, however, that the concern is whether the full weight of China's impact on its region could then affect the U.S.

Fischer said his level of confidence is "pretty high" that U.S. inflation will return to the Fed's target, as factors like oil's low price are transitory.

Still, he added that he has not seen "much evidence" of increasing risks to staying at near-zero rates for longer, but he also said he didn't want to wait too long.

"When the case is overwhelming, if you wait that long, you'll be waiting too long," he said. "There's always uncertainty."

Fischer emphasized that the Fed's tightening will be slow and not drastic.

"We do not intend doing a rapid rate of increase," he said.

summary: Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer conceded that the recent market volatility will affect the Fed's decision making.


Bloomberg Again Blasts Court Ruling on Large Sugary Drinks

Updated, 3:41 p.m. | A day after a judge struck down his administration’s impending limits on large sugary drinks, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appeared at a Manhattan cafe on Tuesday that was nevertheless adopting the limits, and he delivered a forceful defense of his policy and a rebuke of the judge’s decision.

Inside a room at Lucky’s Cafe packed with television cameras and appearing alongside elected officials and public health experts who have supported his plan, Mr. Bloomberg said that 100,000 Americans die every year from obesity-related causes and that the world would be watching the fate of New York City’s restrictions on sugary drinks.

“If it happens here, it will happen everywhere, and if it’s stopped here, it’s going to be a very big problem,” said Mr. Bloomberg, who said on Monday that the city would appeal the judge’s ruling.

“An awful lot of people are dying,” he added. “This is not a joke.”

Firing back at those who say that government should limit itself to educating people about nutrition, Mr. Bloomberg said, “You don’t wait until people are dead and then try to educate them, and that’s really the decision you have to make here.”

He praised the owner of Lucky’s Cafe, on First Avenue, for voluntarily complying with the rules, and said other businesses should do the same.

“No. 1, it’s good business, people will appreciate it,” Mr. Bloomberg said, “and No. 2, they’ll live longer, so they’ll be clients longer.”

The owner, Greg Anagnostopoulos, who is tall and slim, said he was motivated by a belief that consuming excess amounts of soda was dangerous.

“If we offer you a 64-ounce and you drink it all, I think that’s the worst thing you can do – it’s like shoving a cake down your throat,” he said, adding, “Moderation, that’s what I believe.”

On Monday, Justice Milton A. Tingling of State Supreme Court in Manhattan issued his ruling invalidating Mr. Bloomberg’s plan, which was to take effect on Tuesday. Justice Tingling acted in response to a suit brought by the soft-drink industry against the restrictions, which would have banned the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces by restaurants, movie theaters and food carts.

Justice Tingling called the rules “arbitrary and capricious” and said the city’s Board of Health, which is appointed by the mayor, had overstepped its authority in approving the rules.

Mr. Bloomberg called the judge “totally wrong” and said he was confident that his decision would be reversed on appeal.

The ruling raises the possibility, however, that the case may not be decided by the time Mr. Bloomberg leaves office at the end of the year, putting the fate of the restrictions in the hands of his successor. The soda issue has shifted the usual political alliances among the Democrats vying to succeed Mr. Bloomberg, with one of his sharpest critics, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, supporting the restrictions, and a candidate who is usually his ally, Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, opposing them.

Mr. de Blasio, who joined Mr. Bloomberg at Lucky’s on Tuesday morning, “The mayor is absolutely right on this, and it’s important for people to stand with him.”

Other politicians, including the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, and a councilman from Queens, James F. Gennaro, also appeared with the mayor and spoke on behalf of the rules, as did Geoffrey Canada, the president and chief executive of the Harlem Children’s Zone, and Dr. Steven Safyer, the chief executive of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, who called obesity a greater scourge in the Bronx than H.I.V./AIDS.

Mr. Bloomberg vowed to keep fighting for measures to stem the tide of obesity after he leaves office, and predicted that restrictions on the sale of large sodas would someday be as widespread as bans on smoking.

“That’s what scares some of the manufacturers so much,” he said, adding, “I am 100 percent confident that just like smoking, this is an issue that the public has finally come to understand.”

The judge’s decision threatens what Mr. Bloomberg had hoped would be a major part of his legacy. But Mr. Bloomberg, at one point on Tuesday, bristled at the suggestion that the ruling was a “setback” for him as he enters the final months of his administration.

“It was not a setback for me – this is a setback for the people who are dying,” he said sharply. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I watch my diet. This is not for me.”

And in case anyone wondered what happened at Lucky’s when it wasn’t occupied by journalists, City Room dispatched a reporter later on Tuesday in search of a cold beverage. He was told by a waiter that he could have nothing with sugar larger than 16 ounces, either in a can or in a cup.

Laki Anagnostopoulos, Greg Anagnostopoulos’s father, said the restaurant started serving smaller drinks about a month ago. The decision was not about dictating people’s food choices, he said, but about sending a message about making better health choices. After all, the restaurant offers French fries and French dip sandwiches, as well as 12 different kinds of salads.

No one, Mr. Anagnostopoulos added, has complained about the disappearance of the bigger drinks.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

An earlier version of this post misstated the name of the justice. He is Milton A. Tingling, not Milton A. Tingling Jr.

summary:

assistant: A day after a judge derailed his planned restrictions, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg forcefully defended them in an appearance at a restaurant whose owner said he was adopting the limits on his own.