Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to reporters after the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to stem a disruptive surge in inflation, during a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2022.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s insistence that the central bank is not deliberately trying to cause a recession and that the economy is on solid footing is exactly what someone in his position would be expected to say.
The trouble is, the Fed’s likely to get a recession anyway as data shows the economy is a far cry from stable.
Consequently, markets whipsawed Thursday, going from a positive reaction on Wednesday to Powell’s post-meeting comments to a rout as worries fester over what effect higher interest rates and tighter monetary policy will have on a fragile state of…
