FED: Fed Does Not See Evidence of Weakness in Jobs Market Accelerating
Oct-29 19:22
Powell says that the Fed doesn't see evidence of the weakness in the jobs market accelerating. "You don't see anything that says that the job market, or really any part of the economy is, is making a significant deterioration." He namechecks another private sector provider - Indeed.com - in noting "kind of stable" job openings.
Powell says re the 12 regional Fed presidents' terms being up for renewal in Feb 2026 (as is the case every 5 years): "We're in the middle of that process, and we're going to complete it in a timely way. And that's really all I can say."
FED: Lack of Data May Argue for Skipping December Cut
Oct-29 19:18
Powell again suggests there's an argument that a continuing dearth of government data may argue for skipping a December cut:
"If you really aren't getting information, you really don't know, and the economy looks like it's solid and stable and hasn't really changed, there will be an argument - I don't know how persuasive it will be - but there will be an argument that you slow down [when] you can't see as far ahead....You're perfectly right that you could also argue things haven't really changed, but you might not know that. So I don't know whether we'll face this or not. I hope we don't. I hope by the time that December meeting, we're getting a better flow of data, but we're going to have to do our jobs, one way or the other."
FED: Powell Asked About Current Rates and Equity Markets
Oct-29 19:12
Asked about current rates: "I wouldn't say that they're accommodative right now, but they're meaningfully less tight than they were, and that should help so that at least the labor market doesn't get worse".
Asked if equity markets are overvalued: "we don't look at any one asset price and say hey, that's wrong, you know - it's not our job...You know, we don't set asset prices - markets do that."