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Daniel Moss

Risk Profile for Powell at the Fed May Be All Wrong

What if everyone braced for impact ... but the U.S. economy actually improved?

Jerome Powell, said to be chosen to lead the Fed. — Jerome Powell, said to be chosen to lead the Fed.
Photographer: T.J. Kirkpatrick/Bloomberg

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November 2, 2017, 1:36 PM UTC

What if the warnings for Jerome Powell are all wrong?

Powell, a Fed governor since 2012 and now said to be chosen by Trump, is mostly seen as keeping the central bank on its current trajectory: a few interest-rate increases next year and a couple more sometime after that, with the benchmark rate peaking at about 2.8 percent. That trajectory might be tested, and not in the way commonly thought. Assumptions can always do with having their tires kicked.