Fed Holds Rates Steady and Ends the Powell Era Deeply Divided
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What recent decision did the Federal Reserve make regarding interest rates?
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There's a deep divide at the Fed as the Jerome Powell era comes to a close, plus a Supreme Court decision that weakens the Voting Rights Act.
Essentially what they can do as a result of this ruling is eliminate districts that have a majority of Black voters and then disperse those Black voters into other districts that would be dominated by white voters.
And the Pentagon gives its first precise number for the military cost of the Iran war so far, $25 billion. It's Wednesday, April 29th. I'm Alex Osola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Let's begin with the latest at the Federal Reserve. The central bank held interest rates steady today. That part was widely expected. But not everything in today's announcement was so predictable. Journal economics reporter Matt Grossman is here now to discuss. Matt, let's... Start with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
What unusual move is Jerome Powell making after his term as Fed Chair ends?
This was his last meeting as Fed Chair, likely to be succeeded by Trump's pick Kevin Warsh. Powell said he'll stick around as governor for a period that has yet to be decided. He said the Justice Department's investigation into him makes that necessary.
I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality. And I stand by that.
He said the independence of the central bank was at risk.
My concern is really about the series of legal attacks on the Fed, which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors.
How typical is it for a former chair to stick around on the board like this? And what could that mean for the board dynamics?
This is a really unusual move for Powell. It's more than 75 years since we've had a Fed chair who stayed around after his term as chair ends. It really speaks to the level of concern that Powell has about the Fed's independence. He did not want to leave while there was any hint of a legal threat, given this Justice Department investigation that was hanging over him and the Fed over the past few months.
What sense do we have about the relationship between Powell and Trump's Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh?
Powell said in his press conference today that he expects a normal transition to Kevin Warsh. Kevin Warsh's nomination was advanced today by the Senate Banking Committee, so now he goes to a full vote in the Senate. And he's widely expected to be confirmed, which would likely make the next Fed meeting in mid-June his first on the job. Powell said that he's going to stay around but keep a low profile. He said that the Fed will be Kevin Warsh's to lead and that it's important that the Fed only has one chair at any given time.
Now, Matt, back to the meat and potatoes, the interest rates. Today's decision had dissents from four out of 12 members, and that's the most out of policy meeting since 1992. Which way were they dissenting? Did the dissenters want a hike or a cut?
So we had one dissent in favor of a rate cut and three dissents against the Fed hinting that its next move would be a cut. In other words, officials who are genuinely more in favor of considering a possible hike in the future.
So what kind of signal does that give us as to what the Fed's next move might be, up or down?
How could the Supreme Court's decision affect minority voting districts?
There's a strong signal today in those three dissents that if Kevin Warsh comes in with a strong preference to cut rates, he might face considerable opposition from some of the officials who've been in place on the committee for quite a while.
What is the Pentagon's estimate of the cost of the Iran war so far?
Not only did the committee not vote for a cut today, but there were those three dissents from officials who didn't even want to talk about that possibility in the near future.
That was our economic reporter, Matt Grossman. Thanks, Matt.
Thank you.
Traders are changing their interest rate bets after some hawkish signals from today's Fed meeting.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What recent decision did the Federal Reserve make regarding interest rates?
0:00–1:21
2
What unusual move is Jerome Powell making after his term as Fed Chair ends?
1:21–3:36
3
How could the Supreme Court's decision affect minority voting districts?
3:36–3:51
4
What is the Pentagon's estimate of the cost of the Iran war so far?
3:51–10:33
Speakers
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