The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Jan. 17, edition that a top U.S. Federal Reserve official, Christopher Waller, said Tuesday that he is increasingly confident that inflation will continue falling this year back to the Fed's 2-per-cent target level. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that Mr. Waller noted that inflation is slowing even as growth and hiring remain solid -- a combination that he called "almost as good as it gets." Mr. Waller's remarks follow recent comments from other senior Fed officials that suggest that the central bank remains on track to begin cutting its benchmark short-term interest rate, likely by midyear. In December, the policy makers collectively forecast that they would cut their rate three times this year. Wall Street investors and many economists expect the first cut in March. In written remarks Mr. Waller said, "The progress I have noted on inflation, combined with the data in hand on economic and financial conditions and my outlook has made me more confident than I have been since 2021 that inflation is on a path to 2 per cent." The Fed prefers for inflation to be about 2 per cent, which it sees as having little negative effect on the economy.