April 18, 2022
Smart Moves for Every Scenario
By Drew Simmons
If there’s a word that stands out from Chairman Powell’s comments leading up to the Federal Reserve’s next rate decision, it’s “expeditiously.”
That pretty much sums up the Fed’s tone, and there’s no question what the Fed is trying to telegraph when it comes to taming inflation — “We’re behind the eight ball.”
The Federal Reserve has embarked on their most aggressive tightening cycle in more than 20 years. The question is how much and how long? The labor market is strong with the unemployment rate at 3.6%, just 0.1% above the pre-pandemic low. Also, the stubbornly low labor force participation rate has seen a significant surge over the past five months, increasing 0.7% to 62.4%.
Drew Simmons
Drew Simmons is the Oklahoma regional account manager on FHLBank Topeka’s Member Engagement and Solutions team. He was a senior banker at The Baker Group before joining FHLBank in 2021. Drew has an MBA from Oklahoma City University, and he is the co-host of Financial Intelligence Live, a quarterly webinar from FHLBank.
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