Jerome Powell

'The time has come' to lower interest rates: Fed Chair Jerome Powell

11:06am August 23, 2024

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell signaled that he's increasingly confident inflation will soon be tamed, and that he and his colleagues will soon cut interest rates to avoid hurting the job market.

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A program in the eastern Upper Peninsula has helped build single family homes to mitigate some of the challenges of rising housing costs.

Economy

Are both rents AND interest rates too dang high?

6:15pm July 31, 2024

The Federal Reserve has once again opted to leave interest rates unchanged. That appears to be creating a big challenge to one part of the economy: housing prices. Today, we look at how elevated interest rates may actually be keeping home prices and rent high. Plus, we see how one community is taking the issue of housing affordability into its own hands.

Read the research paper co-authored by Julia Fonseca, Lu Liu, and Pierre Mabille.

Related episodes:
When mortgage rates are too low to give up (Apple / Spotify)
The housing shakeup (Apple / Spotify)
The highs and lows of US rent (Apple / Spotify)

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Economy

The Fed holds rates steady, sees only one rate cut in 2024 as inflation cools slowly

9:15pm June 12, 2024

by Scott Horsley

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady while signaling it can cut rates only once this year. The decision came after data earlier showed inflation cooling slightly.

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The Fed kept interest rates steady on Wednesday for a second consecutive meeting but will continue to monitor the economy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell (pictured) left the door open for another rate hike if required.

Economy

The Fed held interest rates steady — but the fight against inflation is not over yet

6:15pm November 01, 2023

by Scott Horsley

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Wednesday, but left the door open to additional rate hikes in the future, if necessary, to curb inflation.

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Jan. 18, 2023. Stocks have rallied this year on hopes about the economy, but some fear that optimism is misplaced.

Economy

Markets are surging as fears about the economy fade. Why the optimists could be wrong

8:57am February 04, 2023

The markets have rallied this year as investors believe inflation will continue to ease and that the economy will avoid a recession – but it could end in tears.

President Jimmy Carter signs an emergency natural gas legislation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., in 1977.

Memories of the 1970s haunt the Fed, pushing its aggressive rate moves

5:00am September 29, 2022

by Scott Horsley

The Federal Reserve is cracking down hard on inflation, in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the 1970s, when price hikes were so sustained, they got baked in to people's thinking.

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Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee at the headquarters of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday after he announced the Fed was raising interest rates by three-qu

Meet the Fed, the latest superpower to emerge from Washington's shadows

2:34pm July 31, 2022

by Ron Elving

Few voters may be thinking of Jerome Powell as they go to the polls in November, but all will be coping with economic conditions strongly influenced by Powell's Federal Reserve Board.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell maintains the central bank has the tools it needs to bring high inflation under control.

Economy

Another big Fed rate hike is here to battle inflation. Economy hangs in balance

4:59pm July 27, 2022

by David Gura

U.S. Federal Reserve raises rates for fourth time in 2022, this time by another three-quarters of a percentage point to battle inflation. It's at a size and pace we haven't seen since the 1980s.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on May 4. Powell was confirmed by the Senate to a second term leading the central bank. Fighting inflation will define his legacy.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is confirmed for a 2nd term. Inflation will be his focus

9:24pm May 12, 2022

by Scott Horsley

Jerome Powell was confirmed to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. The Senate vote comes as the central bank faces intense pressure to bring down inflation.

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies about monetary policy and the state of the economy before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, D.C., on March 2.

Economy

The Fed raises interest rates by the most in over 20 years to fight inflation

5:43pm May 04, 2022

by Scott Horsley

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point Wednesday, in an effort to cool off demand and lower inflation. Consumer prices have been rising at the fastest pace in 40 years.

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