Why the Federal Reserve is split on the future of interest rates
Jerome Powell began with a big cut. What comes next?
A single dissent on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate committee garnered plenty of attention last week. Understandably so. It marked the first time since 2005 that a Fed governor had opposed a rate decision. Michelle Bowman’s disagreement highlighted concerns that a half-percentage-point cut might be excessive for an economy yet to vanquish inflation. Nevertheless, her 11 other voting colleagues all supported the cut—an indication of near-total unanimity on where the Fed should set rates today.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Hammer and tongs”
Finance & economics September 28th 2024
- Governments are bigger than ever. They are also more useless
- China’s central bank tries to save the economy—and the stockmarket
- How lower American interest rates will boost Africa
- Can Israel’s economy survive an all-out war with Hizbullah?
- Is the world sleepwalking into another gas crisis?
- A Wall Street state of mind has captured America
- Why the Federal Reserve is split on the future of interest rates
From the September 28th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
The great-man theory of Wall Street
Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals
Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal
Demographics and geopolitics will make a recovery harder
Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies
An unanticipated side-effect of Donald Trump’s election victory
American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits
An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts
Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers
Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars
Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer