J-Poww Does The Deed On “Waiting” As He Coasts Towards The Finish Line…

Hey Siri, define “coasting to the finish line”... 

The Fed came, they talked, and it’s now clear Jerry Interest Rates is lame-ducking his way to the end of his term in May. Genius.  Rates stayed parked at 3.5%–3.75%, right where they’ve been, despite Trump yelling from the cheap seats and Twitter acting like this was gonna be the meeting where Jerome finally blinked… again. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Spoiler: He did not blink. After three baby cuts last year, Powell and the gang decided to run the most aggressive strategy in central banking history: wait and see. Inflation isn’t screaming. The labor market isn’t dead. GDP keeps refusing to roll over. Translation: there is zero urgency to save anyone’s overlevered portfolio.

(Source: New York Post) 

In fact, Powell even called it what it was… a boring meeting. Which presumably means, the bad boy who hasn’t complied with his grand jury subpoenas, is most definitely not here to entertain us. Naturally, markets took it about as well as you’d expect. Stocks chopped. Yields crept. Everyone refreshed prediction markets to see who’s next in line to sit on the monetary throne once Jerome gets escorted out in May. The current favorites (for the time being) are none other than BlackRock’s Rick Rieder and Kevin Warsh. One guy Wall Street trusts. One guy Trump trusts. Pick your fighter.

That said, the real spice wasn’t necessarily the rates… it was Powell non-chalantly existing while under active DOJ investigation. If you recall, the Feds fearless leader is currently being probed over the $2.5B HQ renovation fiasco. Maybe you’ve seen this gem as a result: 

(Source: Giphy) 

Powell even showed up to the Supreme Court hearing about whether Trump can fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, calling it “the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history.” Which is not something you say unless you think the institution itself is being stress-tested in real time. Trump, meanwhile, has been on his usual tour calling Powell “stupid,” “mentally compromised,” and generally acting like a guy who regrets his own appointment decisions. Powells response is obviously something along the lines of: If I get charged, it’s because we didn’t cut rates when the President wanted us to. Savage.

Which means we’re now at a point where rates are unchanged, cuts are pushed further out, and the Fed chair is finishing his term under legal fire. Oh, and the White House is openly shopping for a replacement who will smile and nod harder. We’re living in a simulation. Until next time, friends… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.