Post by trueblue on Aug 31, 2022 4:01:28 GMT
'Fed Chair Jerome Powell says 'some pain' is on the horizon. Here's what that means'
Minneapolis (CNN Business)In a blunt speech last Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that the central bank's battle against inflation won't come without some casualties.
The Fed is firmly resolved to bring down inflation and to "keep at it until the job is done," Powell said. But that plan — which involves a series of hefty interest rate hikes — will bring "some pain to households and businesses," he acknowledged.
What exactly that "pain" might entail — as well as its intensity and duration — could vary considerably in an economic environment pockmarked by high inflation and other elements of instability.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts criticized the Fed's plan during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash this weekend, saying: "What [Powell] calls 'some pain,' means putting people out of work, shutting down small businesses because the cost of money goes up, because the interest rates go up."