Fed Chair Jerome Powell raises rates by 0.25 percentage points

Queue Succession Main Title soundtrack.

Power. That’s what Fed Chair Jerome Powell must feel right before he announces rate hikes.

Yesterday, JPow raised rates by 0.25 percentage points — bringing the target to 4.50 to 4.75%. No surprises here.

This is lower than the 0.50 percentage point hikes we got in December or the four consecutive 0.75 ones we had before.

The correct reaction to the news: Well, that’s…

Investors were dissecting his every word to figure out when he’ll stop raising rates.

Anything? Here’s what we got:

• It’s too early to “declare victory” over inflation.
• Inflation is still too high, and he’s set on bringing it down to 2%.
• “Given our outlook, I don’t see us cutting rates this year, if our outlook comes true.”

But he did finish with some positive words — saying there’s still a path to a “soft landing,” — aka raising rates without entering a recession.

The CME FedWatch Tool has an 82.5% chance of another 0.25 hike next meeting.

Mark two dates on your calendars: March 22 — the next rate hike decision, and March 26 — the Succession Season 4 debut.