US expansion widening as financial risks muted, says Janet Yellen

Yellen said she expects the Fed to continue gradually raising interest rates and trimming its balance sheet

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen , in what may be her final testimony to Congress as head of the central bank, described a steadily brightening picture for the US economy while downplaying the risks of financial instability.

“The economic expansion is increasingly broad based across sectors as well as across much of the global economy,’’ Yellen said in testimony to the bicameral Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday in Washington. “I expect that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, the economy will continue to expand and the job market will strengthen somewhat further, supporting faster growth in wages and