Instant Reaction: Jay Powell on the Fed Decision | Bloomberg Surveillance

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This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg. Instant reaction and analysis from our 3,000 journalists and analysts around the world. In the next 20 minutes on this program, we need to discuss two things.

The future of Chairman Powell one, the easing bias at the Federal Reserve two. On the future of Chairman Powell stand on as a governor of the Federal Reserve. He was asked why this is what he had to say.

My concern is really about the series of legal attacks on the Fed. These attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors. The Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell on independence.

I think Fed independence is at risk. So what about the easing bias? Let's talk about monetary policy.

The question coming into this decision is whether this Federal Reserve would move to a more symmetrical reaction function. That's the jargon. This is the plain speak.

Is it just as likely they'll hike as they'll cut? They didn't do it this time around, but there was some dissent. This vote was eight to four.

Four dissents. Haven't seen that since the 1990s. Of those four, three wanted to get rid of that easing bias.

This is what the chairman had to say on that issue. The you know, number of people on the committee who either could support that language change changing to a more neutral stance so that a hike is as as likely as as a cut. Uh that number has increased over the intermeeting period and it's easy to see why.

We had the discussion. A majority are still on the page of of not feeling the need to move to that level and I I that's where I am.