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Mountain hikes, cowboy hats: Why the Fed's Jackson Hole event is the hottest ticket in econ

Aug 19, 2024
An invitation-only chance to get up close and personal with Chair Jerome Powell.
From left to right, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, and chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell (all sans cowboy hat) during the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium 2023.
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As the Fed holds interest rates steady, Powell says "it's a difficult balancing act"

Aug 1, 2024
But some former central bank officials think the Fed's risking a recession.
"That time [for a rate cut] could be in September, if the data support that," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.
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What is "maximum employment"?

Jul 29, 2024
And why is there no target number to measure it, as there is with inflation —the Federal Reserve's other mandate?
The Federal Reserve is thought to believe that 4% unemployment equates to its goal of maximum employment. But could the jobless rate go even lower without kicking up inflation? Above, Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
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How the Federal Reserve's inflation fight today compares with the '70s and '80s

Decades ago, the Fed was battling double-digit inflation, and Chair Paul Volcker took aggressive action that drove interest rates way up.
As Fed chair, Paul Volcker aggressively fought raging inflation, driving interest rates far higher than they are today. Above, Volcker in 2005.
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What does the Phillips curve tell us about the economy?

Jun 5, 2024
The Phillips Curve says that low unemployment is linked to high inflation. But history shows that the economy doesn't always work that way.
Economist A.W. Phillips came up with what’s known as “the Phillips curve” in 1958. It says that low unemployment is linked to high inflation.
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The problem of sticky inflation resides with housing, Fed's Goolsbee says

May 15, 2024
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee talks the latest CPI release and what it means for the Fed's continued fight against inflation.
Austan Goolsbee, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
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The Fed's Beige Book offers a more colorful look behind the stats

Mar 7, 2024
The latest edition includes comments from community bankers, real estate brokers, farm-implement suppliers—you name it.
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When will the Fed cut rates? Senators are likely to put Jay Powell on the spot when he testifies

Mar 7, 2024
He says there's likely to be a rate cut this year, but he won't say when.
Above, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
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How independent are Fed officials from the politicians who appoint them?

Mar 6, 2024
Biden has mostly shied away from publicly criticizing the Fed chair, while Trump tweeted about the Fed hundreds of times while in office.
It’s a mistake to think the Federal Reserve is completely immune from politics, says Sarah Binder at George Washington University. Above, Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
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"I think our fear of high inflation is well warranted," Minneapolis Fed president says

Feb 21, 2024
Neel Kashkari weighs in on the state of the economy and what's left to bring inflation down to the Fed's 2% target.
"I do the grocery shopping for my family. I started doing that when the pandemic hit, and I still have sticker shock," says Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed president.
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