Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in an interview with CBS ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday that the US economy is at a ‘turning point’, with forecasts for growth and job creation.
Remarkable: In his interview with Scott Pelley, CBS, Powell said the Fed is highly unlikely to raise interest rates this year.
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Send the news: “What we’re seeing now is really an economy that seems to be on a downward spiral, and that’s because of widespread vaccination and strong fiscal support, strong support for monetary policy,” Powell said in the interview.
- “We feel like we’re in a place where the economy will start to grow much faster and job creation will come in much faster.”
Yes, but: Powell’s prediction is that there will not be another COVID-19 wave.
- “I will now identify the most important risk to our economy is that the disease will spread faster again,” Powell said.
- “We do see cases. They’re at a much lower level. But we’re seeing them move up now. And it’s disturbing. It’s going to be smart if people can continue to distance themselves socially and wear masks.”
Threat level: Powell told Pelley that the risk the Fed is paying the most attention now is the threat of a cyber breach. Officials scoured a variety of scenarios – from the dismantling of payment utilities for individuals and large financial institutions to the financial system coming to a standstill.
- “There are now cyber attacks on all major institutions every day,” Powell noted.
- “And the government is working hard on that. So are all the businesses in the private sector. A lot of effort is being put into tackling the threats. That’s a big part of the threat picture in today’s world.”
For the record: President Biden took office a month after it was revealed that suspected Russian hackers had launched a massive cyber attack on several government agencies and US companies.
- The Biden government is working on an executive order to strengthen federal cyber security following the hacking of SolarWinds and the Microsoft Exchange Server – which was targeted by a Chinese-backed cyber-espionage unit, it revealed earlier this month came.
- Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas outlined a plan earlier this month to counter online attacks, saying the government in Biden is committed to a newly created national cyber directorate confirmed by the Senate, but the post has yet to be finalized. be filled.