WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell has been sworn in as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve in a brief ceremony in the Fed’s board room. In a short video message, Powell pledged to “support continued economic growth, a healthy job market and price stability.”
Powell took the oath of office from Randal Quarles, the Fed’s vice chairman for supervision, in a ceremony that was attended by Fed staff and Fed board member Lael Brainard.
Powell succeeds Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the nation’s central bank in its 100 year history. President Donald Trump picked Powell after deciding to break with recent tradition and not offer Yellen a second four-year term.
In his video message, Powell did not mention the current turbulence in financial markets which sent stocks plunging on Friday.
I’m guessing Yellen was right that Donald didn’t want her because she’s a woman and Obama appointed her.
Powell was a bad pick for Fed Chair…but that is what you get with Trump. Janet Yellin should have been retained for another 4 year term. But Trump is so myopically focused on erasing all things Obama and with putting all white males in the key positions of power…white nationalism rules the day.
Yup. Mr “I Am Women’s Biggest Supporter” doesn’t support them when they are feisty, smart and in a position of power.
And don’t swoon over his macho tactics.
CBS SUnday Morning did a wonderful piece on outgoing (now outgone) Chair Janet Yellin. I’m waiting for a snarky Trump or maybe Sarah rebuttal. They are just that small. Or, in their favorite word, “little”.
My only criticism of Yellen was her reluctance to raise interest rates. For an economy that has been growing for close to nine years now with unemployment close to 4%, the fed interest rate should be at least 5%. We’ll never see that rate again because our economy is dependent on low rates. If mortgage rates were raised to 7%, the housing market would collapse.
For every one percent interest rate increase, the payment on our 20 trillion debt would increase by 200 billion a year.
That is the real reason we will never see interest rates rise to where they should be.