Powell in the Q&A on April 29, 2020
- It may well be the case that the economy needs more support 'from all of us'
- Repeats commitment to lending "forcefully, proactively, and aggressively"
- Our main tool is aiding companies and "preventing avoidable insolvency"
- We think our policy stance is right where it should be for now
- We've done quiet a bit of thinking about what we could do in the future, we're waiting to find out more about the economy
- We don't make grants, we can't make grants
- We will act to the absolute limit of our powers
- 'Medium term' means the next year or so
- Mindful of damage to productive capacity
- It will take 'some time' to get back to normal employment
- Reopening will boost consumption but not to prior level
- We're not going to be in any hurry to withdraw these policies
- The Treasury still has plenty of equity. We have the ability to do that
- We're going to see data in Q2 that's worse than we've ever seen
- Forecasts today are particularly uncertain
- Breakdowns were in capital markets, we will have to get to work on those
- The crisis showed that you need to get your fiscal house in order
- Our concern is that markets are working, we're not concerned about the levels per se
Powell left a few strong hints that he's prepared to do more and is expecting to do more. The Fed put is in play. If there's any trouble, they're going to deliver more.
