Comments from Powell in the Q&A:
- Financial conditions are more accommodative than a few months ago
- Underlying economic fundamentals are slow
- The Chinese and European economies have slowed substantially... "clearly we will feel that"
- Chinese authorities have taken many steps to stimulate economy and we think it will stabilize
- US tariffs are small relative to size of economy's size
- Tariffs have been a prominent concern among business contacts for some time
- Date are not currently indicating a move in one direction or another
- We see a favorable outlook for this year
- It's a great time for Fed to be patient, watch and wait
- US household fundamentals look solid
- Not dismissing weak retail sales data
- Overall we don't see financial vulnerabilities as high
- The trend in inflation may reflect slack or expectations
- Run up in wages isn't troubling on inflation
- Decision on Fed's balance sheet composition lies ahead of us
- We don't see any data to push us in either direction
There hasn't been a hint of anything hawkish, not even the 2020 hike. His message is that they're clearly on the sidelines.
