FED Chairman Jerome Powell spoke last night for the first time since the interest rate decision was announced last week. However, Powell did not give a clear indication of interest rate decisions in the coming months. While this situation increases uncertainty, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent evaluated Jerome Powell's statement yesterday. Powell Surprised! Speaking on Fox Business Network's “Mornings with Maria” today, Scott Bessent criticized Powell for not giving any indication of the direction of interest rates in his speech yesterday. Stating that it was surprising that he did not speak clearly, Bessent argued that the FED was late in lowering interest rates. Bessent stated that the US has now entered a loosening cycle in monetary policy and emphasized that further interest rate cuts are necessary. “It's surprising that Powell didn't clearly state the direction of interest rates in his speech yesterday. Powell should have signaled a 100-150 basis point cut in his speech yesterday. Because the Fed has kept interest rates very high for a long time. And interest rates are very restrictive and need to be lowered. “At this point, we need a rate cut. We need to at least return to a neutral interest rate.” Bessent, who also made a statement about possible Fed chair candidates to replace Powell, stated that he will have several meetings with the candidates next week and aims to complete the first round of meetings in the first week of October. Bessent said he was surprised by the strong performance of some candidates but would not name them. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: US Treasury Secretary Criticizes Fed Chair Powell, Talks About Interest Rate Cuts! "Surprised Me!"
