December 4 Powell Speech Notes
- The Federal Reserve is not at risk of losing its independence. Its self-funding structure ensures autonomy from government interference in spending and hiring decisions.
- Declining response rates in surveys have increased data volatility, making revisions more common and potentially less predictable.
- The Fed does not create policies based on still uncertain assumptions of future fiscal policies.
- The Fed has no role in immigration policymaking, even though immigration has positively contributed to the economy thus far
- The Fed does not consider national debt levels when setting interest rates. Its mandate is focused on price stability and maximum employment.
- Aggregate economic data remains strong, with the economy performing better than anticipated in September. However, pressures are evident among lower-income consumers, a trend that wasn’t as evident two years ago.
- Bitcoin is viewed as a speculative asset and a competitor to gold, not as a rival to the U.S. dollar.
The market has decreased the amount of cuts expected significantly, the December cut is still not that clear
