Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Thursday said the U.S. central bank was on track to raise interest rates later this year for the first time in nearly a decade, as long as inflation remains steady and the U.S. economy was stable enough for employment growth. Speaking at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the Fed chief’s nearly hour-long presentation was briefly overshadowed when she began coughing and struggled to finish her speech. The 69-year-old received medical attention after she lost her place in the final moments of her speech. Yellen “felt dehydrated at the end of a long speech under the bright lights,” Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith said in an email. She continued her evening schedule afterward, Smith added.
