"Fed's Mouthpiece": Powell opens the door for a rate cut as early as next month's meeting

On August 22, Nick Timiraos, a renowned journalist from The Wall Street Journal known as the "Fed's mouthpiece," reported that Fed Chairman Powell opened the door for a rate cut as early as next month's meeting. He indicated that the labor market could experience a more severe slowdown, which might alleviate concerns about tariffs causing cost increases that drive up inflation. However, Powell's remarks tempered market expectations for consecutive aggressive rate cuts by emphasizing concerns about inflation. Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for over four years.