Powell Faces Fiscal, Macro Policy Potpourri

Update 516 — Support for Recovery (Act)?
Powell Faces Fiscal, Macro Policy Potpourri

Federal Reserve Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Yellen both appeared before the House Financial Services (HFSC) yesterday and Senate Banking today. The main takeaway from them: the economic recovery needs additional federal support. 

The ARP will boost the economy and the Fed projects the highest annual growth rate in 40 years, 6.5 percent, for 2021. So why the bigger package in Biden’s kitchen? Why not fear inflation? We look at the answers in Powell’s testimony, as well as Yellen’s, and examine recent developments at the Fed including relevant regulation and monetary policy discussions during the hearings.

Best,

Dana

——————–

Powell’s Economic Outlook

“The recovery has progressed more quickly than generally expected and looks to be strengthening,” Powell noted in his prepared testimony before the HFSC on Tuesday. Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ramped up its economic growth expectations in part due to the passage of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) and better-than-expected vaccine rollout. The FOMC now expects GDP to grow by 6.5 percent — up from its 4.2 percent forecast from December — and unemployment to drop to 4.5 percent in 2021. 

The FOMC also adjusted its inflation expectations for this year, increasing its forecast from 1.8 percent to 2.2 percent. The new economic forecast alongside the ARP’s passage prompted Republican members of the HFSC and Senate Banking Committee to express concern about rising prices. But Powell assured lawmakers that post-pandemic price hikes will not be “particularly large nor persistent” and that the Fed has the tools to bring inflation to heel, if necessary. But, Powell warned that greater risks exist beyond inflation. 

At the FOMC meeting in January, participants noted concerns about ongoing volatility in the corporate bond market as a significant risk. Bonds from investment-grade companies have lost more than five percent this year (counting price changes and interest payments), marking the second-worst start on record. Demand for these corporate bonds is eroding amid historically narrow spreads, inflation concerns, and improving economic conditions. The commercial real estate market, which is still struggling to recover from the pandemic, was another area of concern mentioned at the FOMC meeting. 

With these risks in mind and unemployment still elevated, Powell and Yellen both declared that the recovery is far from complete. At the FOMC meeting last week, the Fed interest rates will be kept low, though Dallas Fed President Kaplan hinted that rates could rise as early as 2022. The Fed made no attempts to adjust its large-scale asset purchases (quantitative easing), despite bond market turmoil. These purchases increased the central bank’s balance sheet from less than $4 trillion in 2019 to $7 trillion today.

The Fed’s Emergency Lending Facilities

In Powell’s testimonies this week, he reported to Congress on the now-closed CARES Act facilities created back in March of 2020. The CARES Act provided $454 billion in funds to backstop a series of facilities. These facilities, which are authorized by Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, represent some of the most significant actions the Fed took under its emergency lending powers to address the economic crisis. While several facilities successfully calmed markets, the efficacy of other 13(3) facilities such as the Main Street Lending Program and the Municipal Liquidity Facility was mediocre at best, lending out only a fraction of their allocated funds. 

In November, five of these lending programs were allowed to expire at the end of 2020 by then-Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. Mnuchin’s decision was controversial. Democrats argued that doing so violated Congressional intent and amounted to a political effort to hamstring the incoming administration. December’s stimulus bill settled the issue, returning the remaining $429 billion in unused funds back to the Treasury and out of reach of the Biden Administration. The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Response has opened an inquiry into whether politics played a role in Mnuchin’s decision to shut down the facilities.

Odds and Ends

The FOMC’s updated projections for 2021 are not the only exciting development in financial policy these past few weeks. Other significant developments and hearing discussions include: 

  • Changes to the Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR): Last week, the Federal Reserve announced the expiration of its COVID-era emergency measure to the SLR, prompting a dip for bank stocks. But the Fed hinted at the possibility of re-evaluating “the current design and calibration of the SLR over time,” in order to avoid “constrain[ing] economic growth.” During the pandemic, banks were allowed to exclude their central bank holdings of Treasury securities from SLR reporting, effectively lowering their capital requirements. The temporary change, instituted in May, was an effort to boost bank lending. While industry lobbyists fought hard to keep the rule change on the books, Powell soundly decided to dial back the SLR rule. Defying big banks by letting the SLR rule expire underscores Powell’s moderate tendencies, as did his forceful advocacy of additional fiscal relief in the face of Republican thumb-twiddling over the summer.
  • SIFI Designation of Asset Managers: At today’s Senate Banking hearing, Sen. Warren interrogated Yellen on whether asset managers like BlackRock should be designated as systemically important financial institutions (SIFI). SIFI designation by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) enables regulatory management of systemic risk of too-big-to-fail banks and nonbanks. No asset management firm has been designated a SIFI since FSOC’s formation in 2010. BlackRock is one of the world’s largest asset managers, overseeing about $9 trillion in assets. Pointing to past findings from FSOC investigations, Yellen said she thinks designation of a particular company is less important than scrutinizing the actions they take but conceded that FSOC will continue to monitor BlackRock. 
  • London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) Transition: Though not related to pandemic relief, Rep. Sherman asked Yellen and Powell during Tuesday’s HFSC hearing if legislation would be needed to address the transition away from LIBOR to the new Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). LIBOR, the benchmark interest rate at which global banks lend to one another, will be entirely phased out by June 30, 2023, and replaced with SOFR. The Fed will no longer publish certain LIBOR rates in 2022, but only a handful of banks have begun using the SOFR. Nearly $2 trillion of debt is pegged to dollar LIBOR and much of it cannot be easily shifted to an alternative benchmark. Yellen encouraged Congress to pass legislation addressing the LIBOR transition this year. 

More Help on the Way

With the ARP passed, another stimulus package is already on the horizon. The Recovery Act, a giant infrastructure plan, is expected to weigh in at $3 trillion. Between the two packages, that brings the running total up to $5 trillion in stimulus for 2021, causing investors and lawmakers to express some inflation concerns. 

But during the hearing, Powell swatted down these concerns, saying that any inflation will neither be significant or persistent. Powell, without commenting on pending legislation, seemed sure that another $3 trillion in stimulus would not hurt the economy but is necessary to build the economy back better. And the same applies to the paradox of urging additional support while forecasting robust growth — those robust projections for this year are dead-cat bounce statistics that look better than they are and, more important, may be temporary without additional support.  

178 thoughts on “Powell Faces Fiscal, Macro Policy Potpourri”

  1. I wanted to thank you for this great read!!
    I absolutely loved every little bit of it. I have you book
    marked to check out new things you post…

  2. Hey! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site?
    I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had
    problems with hackers and I’m looking at options
    for another platform. I would be great if you could point
    me in the direction of a good platform. asmr 0mniartist

  3. I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you,
    you have hit the nail on the head. The problem is
    something that too few people are speaking intelligently about.
    Now i’m very happy that I came across this during my search
    for something relating to this. asmr 0mniartist

  4. Thank you for any other informative site. Where else may just I get that kind of information written in such a perfect method?
    I have a venture that I’m just now operating on, and I have been at the glance out for such information. asmr 0mniartist

  5. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do
    it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and
    would like to find out where u got this from.

    many thanks 0mniartist asmr

  6. Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your
    website, how can i subscribe for a weblog website?

    The account helped me a applicable deal. I have been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered
    vibrant transparent idea asmr 0mniartist

  7. This design is spectacular! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused.
    Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job.
    I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
    Too cool! asmr 0mniartist

  8. Hi there, You have done an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends.
    I am sure they’ll be benefited from this website.
    0mniartist asmr

  9. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your
    site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to
    come here and visit more often. Did you hire
    out a developer to create your theme? Exceptional work!
    asmr 0mniartist

  10. Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after going through a few of the posts I realized it’s
    new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely delighted I stumbled upon it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back often! 0mniartist asmr

  11. I was curious if you ever considered changing the structure
    of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to
    say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it
    better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two pictures.
    Maybe you could space it out better? asmr 0mniartist

  12. Hi there outstanding blog! Does running a blog such
    as this take a massive amount work? I’ve absolutely no understanding of coding however I
    was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways, if
    you have any ideas or techniques for new blog owners please share.
    I know this is off subject but I just had to ask. Kudos!
    asmr 0mniartist

  13. constantly i used to read smaller articles or reviews which
    also clear their motive, and that is also happening with this paragraph which I
    am reading at this place. 0mniartist asmr

  14. Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
    Look advanced to more added agreeable from you!
    By the way, how could we communicate? 0mniartist asmr

  15. Hey! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after browsing through some of the post
    I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely
    glad I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often! 0mniartist asmr

  16. Your style is so unique compared to other people I have read
    stuff from. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just
    book mark this web site.

  17. Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I in finding It really useful & it helped me out a lot.
    I’m hoping to give one thing back and help others
    such as you aided me.

  18. Sweet blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News.
    Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
    I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to
    get there! Cheers

  19. Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog!
    We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project
    in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on.
    You have done a extraordinary job!

  20. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site.
    It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that
    “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appeal.
    I must say you have done a amazing job with this.
    Also, the blog loads very quick for me on Safari.
    Excellent Blog!

  21. scoliosis
    With havin so much content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
    My website has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my
    authorization. Do you know any ways to help prevent content
    from being stolen? I’d certainly appreciate
    it. scoliosis

  22. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your blog.
    You have some really great posts and I think I
    would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the
    load off, I’d love to write some content for your blog
    in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot
    me an e-mail if interested. Thanks!

  23. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and
    also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you
    customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent
    quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one today.

  24. I am extremely impressed with your writing talents and
    also with the format on your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you modify it yourself?
    Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it
    is rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays..

  25. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been running a blog for? you make blogging look easy. The overall glance of your site is great, as well as the content!good job guys.

  26. We’re a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with valuable info to work on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be grateful to you.have a good day.

  27. Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast!

    What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link
    to your host? I wish my site loaded up as fast as yours lol

  28. Hello there, I discovered your site by the use of Google even as searching for a similar
    subject, your website got here up, it seems to be great.
    I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

    Hello there, simply was aware of your blog through Google, and located that it
    is really informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels.
    I will appreciate if you happen to proceed this in future.
    Lots of people shall be benefited out of your writing. Cheers!

  29. I am really enjoying the theme/design of your site. Do you ever run into
    any browser compatibility issues? A number of my blog readers have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome.
    Do you have any recommendations to help fix this issue?

  30. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew
    of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my
    newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for
    a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe
    you would have some experience with something like this.
    Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new
    updates.

  31. Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your
    articles? I mean, what you say is important and all. But think of if you added some
    great images or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”!

    Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this website could certainly be one of
    the greatest in its niche. Amazing blog!

  32. For the reason that the admin of this site is working, no doubt
    very shortly it will be well-known, due to its quality contents.

  33. I’m extremely impressed together with your writing talents as well as with the
    format for yourr blog. Is tat this a paid topic or did you modifyy
    iit your self? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is uncommon to ssee a nice weblog like this one today..

  34. My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find many
    of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for.

    Do you offer guest writers to write content to suit your needs?
    I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you write with regards to here.
    Again, awesome web site!

  35. Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite
    reason appearwd to be on the web thee implest thing
    to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed whille people consider worries that they just do nott know about.

    You managed to hit tthe nail upon thhe top and also defined out
    thhe whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal.

    Willl probably be back to get more. Thanks

  36. I got this web page from my friend who told me about this site and at the moment this time I am visiting this site
    and reading very informative articles at this time.

  37. Wonderful website you have here but I was wondering if you knew of
    any community forums that cover the same topics talked about
    in this article? I’d really love to be a part of community where I can get comments
    from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest.
    If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
    Thank you!

  38. It’s in point of fact a great and useful piece of info. I’m satisfied that you shared this helpful information with us.

    Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

  39. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and
    wanted to say that I have truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.

    In any case I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!

  40. Link exchange is nothing else however it is just
    placing the other person’s blog link on your page at
    appropriate place and other person will also do similar in support
    of you.

  41. Right here is the perfect website for everyone who wants to find out
    about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really
    would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic that has been written about for many years.

    Excellent stuff, just excellent!

  42. Its like you read my mind! You appear to understand a lot
    about this, like you wrote the e book in it or something.
    I think that you just could do with a few % to drive the message
    home a little bit, but other than that, that is magnificent
    blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.

  43. I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page
    layout of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to
    say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect
    with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures.

    Maybe you could space it out better?

  44. Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?
    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.

    If you know of any please share. Thank you!

  45. Hey! This is my first comment here so I just wanted
    to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your
    articles. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics?
    Appreciate it!

  46. Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to send you an email.
    I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing.

    Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.

  47. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the
    book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics
    to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is magnificent
    blog. A great read. I’ll certainly be back.

  48. Article writing is also a fun, if you be familiar with afterward you can write or else it is complicated to write.

  49. Hi there I am so excited I found your blog, I really found you by mistake,
    while I was browsing on Yahoo for something else,
    Regardless I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a remarkable post and a all round entertaining blog (I allso love the theme/design),
    I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it
    and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have
    time I will be back too read much more, Please do keep up the superb work.

  50. I am not positive the place you are getting your information, however great topic. I must spend some time studying more or figuring out more. Thanks for magnificent information I was on the lookout for this information for my mission.

  51. Pingback: keto krate

  52. Just desire to say your article is as amazing. The clarity in your post is just great and
    i could assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to
    grab your feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post.

    Thanks a million and please carry on the rewarding work.

  53. We stumbled over here coming from a different web address and thought I
    should check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you.

    Look forward to looking over your web page yet again.

  54. I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here.
    The sketch is tasteful, your authored material
    stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following.
    unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a
    lot often inside case you shield this increase.

  55. I have learn several just right stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting.

    I wonder how much effort you put to create this type of wonderful informative website.

  56. Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s really
    informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if
    you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing.

    Cheers!

  57. Hello there! This is kind of off topic but I
    need some advice from an established blog. Is it tough to
    set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I
    can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure
    where to begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions?
    With thanks

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *