The Reserve

Was this *the* most important FOMC meeting? How high were the stakes going in to it? Alex Williams, Research Analyst at Employ America, joins the show discuss these questions and react to all the excitement of the FOMC week.

"A Credible, Broad and Inclusive Approach to Maximum Employment" (blog post)

"Beyond the Phillips curve" (full piece)

Employ America

Tweets: @vebaccount, @KalebNygaard

Randy Quarles’ mic drop speech included a very strange commentary on the future of the Fed’s emergency lending authority in 13(3). On today’s episode Steven Kelly and I react.

Quarles’ speech

Lev Menand’s paper on liquidity/credit facilities

Pari Sastri’s 13(3) paper

2008 Board minutes on penalty rates

On twitter: @StevenKelly49, @KalebNygaard

Fed Independence - what does it really mean? Does it matter if we don’t agree on what it means? All of this and more with Todd Phillips, director of financial regulation and corporate governance at the Center for American Progress.

The Myth of Independence, Binder and Spindel

Financial Crises and Legislation, Conti-Brown and Ohlrogge

Tweets: @tphillips, @KalebNygaard

This podcast was born as a countdown to today! The Fed Chair nom is in and Powell gets another term. Here are my five hot takes on the Powell/Brainard announcement.

1. Was it a surprise?

2. Where were the progressives?

3. How will Powell/Brainard nomination processes go?

4. What about the remaining vacancies?

5. What does this mean for the future of the Fed?

On twitter @KalebNygaard

Where will the Fed be in 2030? Where should it be? How will the next 18 months define the Fed’s direction for decades to come? Matt Yglesias joins the show today to think it all through with me.

Matt’s Newsletter: Slowboring

Matt’s most recent book: One Billion Americans

Tweets: @mattyglesias, @KalebNygaard

The big moment the FOMC has been prepping us for arrived this week - the beginning of the taper. Roberto Perli, one of the most sought after Fed Watchers in the world, joined the podcast to talk break it all down with us. 

Twitter: @R_Perli, @StevenKelly49, @KalebNygaard

The apt metaphor for this week in the centralverse is - drinking from the fire hose! My views on ten quick-hits from the week's Fed news.

1. Fed Chair race, PredictIt

2. Prospect article

3. Historical calendar of Fed Chair nominations

4. Boston Fed won't release scandal documents, Reuters

5. Fed ethics unit's warning letter, Jeanna Smialek's big scoop (letter)

6. The full list of trades / financial transactions by FOMC members, Jeanna's summary

7. The Fed's new ethics rules, thanks to Jeanna for the quote!!

8. FSOC Climate report with Powell’s stamp, Todd Phillips' tweet

9. Inflation readings and FOMC commentary

10. In coming weeks: (a) Fed CBDC report, (b) taper at FOMC meeting

Did you know articles of impeachment have been formally introduced in the House against Fed leaders at least twice in history? 

Fed Governor Randy Quarles' term as Fed VC for Supervision and Regulation ended this week, with no replacement nomination from Biden in sight. But this is just one of four major hats Quarles wears at the Fed. Fed reporter extraordinaire Victoria Guida joins the show to talk about what it all means and how this story is the perfect example of how strange the Fed's governance structure is.

On Twitter: @vtg2, @KalebNygaard 

"Fed’s bank cop loses top role as leadership shakeup looms"

Congress should permanently remove the debt ceiling. But until they do that, the issue affects the Fed in some big ways. Steven Kelly joins the show to talk about how the Fed's 13(13) powers and the Standing Repo Facility might be used. 

On Twitter: @StevenKelly49, @KalebNygaard

Mentioned: Joseph Wang's blogpost "Debt Ceiling Procedures [RESTRICTED FR]", Steven's article "Cruel and Unusual Circumstances: The Fed's Use and Misuse of Penalty Rates"