Wall Street was happy on Friday…
According to a Fox Business report, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested Friday that policymakers could cut interest rates at their meeting next month if current conditions hold.
Speaking at the Fed’s annual Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said “the balance of risks appear to be shifting” between the central bank’s goals of full employment and stable prices, according to CNBC. He noted that the economy and labor market remain solid even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs add pressure to consumer prices.
Powell cautioned that tariffs present inflation risks, though he stressed the greater danger may now lie in a weaker job market. “If those risks materialize, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment,” he said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Markets surged following the speech, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite each rising 2% and the S&P 500 up more than 1.5%.
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge shows year-over-year price growth at 2.7% — above the 2% target. The next inflation report is due Sept. 11, ahead of the Fed’s rate-setting meeting Sept. 16–17.
President Trump’s latest knocks on Powell came on Wednesday when he said that Powell’s reluctance to lower interest rates was “hurting the Housing Industry, very badly.”
“People can’t get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut,” Trump said.
More over at Fox Business:
https://twitter.com/FoxBusiness/status/1958944854232244713
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