Jerome Powell is officially getting closer to becoming the next Fed Reserve Chairman. The Fed Governor said that he is not worried about another financial crisis in the banking system. Powell was asked during the Senate hearing on Tuesday if banks remain too big to fail, and he answered “No”. He noted that regulators were able to conduct positive negotiations and there could be nobody to have an idea about the previous situation in case that a run on occurred on one of these giant financial institutions. The incoming Fed head described that regulators were left with “no practical choice” and decided to let these huge banks to fail since the entire financial system resulted in a breakdown. In 2008, the Fed together with Treasury Department organized programs that could bring liquidity to American banks during the crunch which includes Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup and JPMorgan (JPM). Moreover, some were unable to survive like Lehman Brothers while Bear Stearns was bought by JPM at an extremely discounted price. At the same time, the US economy is seated in a better position compared during the Great Recession. The next Fed chair stated that the country may expand nearly at 2.5% in 2018 as reported this year. The 2 percent growth is regarded below the average level according to the majority of forecasters. Goldman Sachs also has the same prediction of 2.5% growth in the economic growth of the United States, and for the world economic outlook is expected at 4% increase. When talking about the US labor market, J.Powell expressed that the decline in the labor force participation rate among prime-age men indicates a dull employment despite the 4.1% jobless rate, as the reduced wage growth shows slack labor market. Just like Yellen, Powell stated his fears regarding low inflation rates, stressing the importance of reaching the 2% annual target.
