The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Federal Reserve officials' concerns about inflation linked to the Iran war grew last month, with more members considering the need to raise interest rates. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that incoming chair Kevin Warsh will face a more hawkish group of central bankers. Most Fed policy-makers at their April 28-29 meeting believed that "some policy firming" may be needed if inflation remains above the 2-per-cent target. Many participants preferred removing language from the post-meeting statement suggesting an easing bias in the Committee's future interest rate decisions. In Fed terminology, "many" indicates a level just below a "majority," implying that the three dissenting Fed presidents had backing from at least as many non-voters. Changing the statement might have constrained the new Fed chair, who had previously shown support for rate cuts before the Iran war. The minutes indicated that policy-makers believed they would need to maintain the policy rate longer than expected, with a majority noting a heightened risk that inflation would take longer to reach the 2-per-cent goal, despite expectations of stable labour-market conditions in the near term.