Richard Clarida

I guess we'll have to wait for Jay Powell's memoir to find out.

I just infer that the chair made the decision.

He had been quiet and had really not weighed in in the past, and I think he just made a decision that he wanted it to be known, that he felt that the Fed needed to focus on

independence and focus on making the judgments on monetary policy.

Any color beyond that, we'll have to wait for the memoir.

I really don't think so.

In light of all the things that are going on, I think it was a very clear indication that for the remainder of his term as chair, that will be the focus.

Well, the question he's not going to answer is, does he intend to stay on after his chair expires?

But I think the one to ask is, what does he see in the labor market that's particularly wearing to him?

And is the Fed undergoing studies about what the broader impact of AI will be across the economy?

Bob, Michael, you look at the key question that you mentioned is labor.

We mentioned this earlier off Orzag and Posen recently.

Does your team at J.P.

Morgan see any form of wage dynamic that indicates inflation?

Not so much right now.

I think this low hire, low fire has really dampened wage gains quite a bit.

We'll see what happens in the first half of the year.

Certainly expectations are pretty good for the economy and corporate spending.

Maybe that will lead to higher wages.

But right now you're not seeing evidence of that.