10:25:00 PM IST, 22 Aug 2025
Jackson Hole Fed Powell speech Live Updates: Powell sided towards inflation, Drew Matus
DREW MATUS, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, NEW JERSEY
"The takeaway from Powell's speech was (Christopher) Waller was right. I think he yielded on the inflation side of things. He said there's the possibility that inflation re-accelerates, but that's like the least likely outcome. That's effectively what Waller has been arguing, and acknowledging the rapid deterioration in the labor market, and rightly so, not claiming responsibility for it. They didn't know that's what the labor market looked like, and now the labor market looks really bad, and they have to acknowledge that."
"We have been expecting 25-bps in September. I think that's still the right call. I think that's what will make everyone happy, at least initially. But we do think this is just the first of a few cuts that we can expect over the next six months. By year end, we would expect there to be at least two cuts."
"People have been increasingly worried that we're kind of heading into a stagflationary story with slower growth and still sticky inflation. I think most people are generally confident that inflation is going to stick around for a little bit. And I think it's certainly in line with what Powell is suggesting he's expecting. So, the real question was, are we going to get growth or not? Unfortunately, the answer is, I think we're going to get some growth, but it's not going to feel great."