The long awaited speech by Fed Chair Powell set the tone for further rate increases as markets anticipate the next meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) on September 20/21.

As Chair Powell spoke he was likely haunted by his remarks in 2021 when he addressed the potential transitory nature of inflation, a position he reset in 2022.  For this year’s speech he was short and to the point: more hikes are coming.  As analysts commented on the speech the only open question was the size of the September increase:  75 or 50 bps.   The Chair talked tough that pain may be needed to overcome inflation; but he seemed prepared to shock the economy to achieve the goal of 2% inflation. He even invoked the name of fabled inflation fighter Fed Chair Paul Volcker. 

The Fed Chair is scheduled to participated in a Conference on Monetary Policy sponsored by the Cato Institute on the morning of September 8 where he will have the opportunity to update his views when the FOMC meeting will be just two weeks away.

Congress and the budget

The US Government’s new fiscal year begins on October 1, and as we have seen in the past failure of Congress to pass some sort of stopgap measure leads to a government shutdown.  Both political parties seem...

Unlock this article with a FREE 30-Day Trial!

An FSI Pro, or FSI Macro subscription is required in order to access this content.

*Free trial available only on a monthly plan

Disclosures (show)

Get invaluable analysis of the market and stocks. Cancel at any time. Start Free Trial

Articles Read 2/2

🎁 Unlock 1 extra article by joining our Community!

You’ve reached your limit of 2 free monthly articles. Please enter your email to unlock 1 more articles.

Already have an account? Sign In

Want to receive Regular Market Updates to your Inbox?

I am your default error :)