FOR THE LAST TIME THIS MORNING, POWELL WAS AT THE PODIUM OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE ECKERS BUILDING. HE WENT ON STAGE, ORGANIZED THE MICROPHONE, AND STARTED HIS OWN STATEMENT, LIKE EVERY FOMC PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS。

THIS IS POWELL'S LAST PUBLIC STATEMENT AS CHAIRMAN OF THE FED. THE AGENDA IS A ROUTINE REVIEW OF COMC ' S DECISION TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM JOURNALISTS. JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE HIS OFFICIAL DEPARTURE, EVERYONE KNEW IT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT PRESS CONFERENCE THAN IT HAD BEEN BEFORE, ALTHOUGH POWELL HAD PREPARED SOME SURPRISES BEYOND EXPECTATIONS。

It was not surprising that the interest rate decision had remained unchanged at 3.5 to 3.75 per cent, but there had been four objections within the Committee, the most divisive meeting since 1992. At the same time, he formally responded to previous market speculations that he would remain in the Fed。

The last person who chose to remain on the board after his resignation was Marina Eckers in 1948, whose name came from the Federal Reserve Building. From him to Powell, it was 78 years apart。

Why did Powell choose to stay? Each of these eight-year stories starts with "good afternoon." This was his numerous opening remarks at the rostrum of the Press Briefing Room, and he became the most extensive and familiar memory of social media. But to understand the weight of his decision today, it is necessary to move back eight years。

Chairman of the "not fit"

"I will do all I can to achieve the two major tasks that Congress has given us: price stability and maximum employment. – Jerome Powell, November 2, 2017

On the morning of 5 February 2018, Jerome Powell took the oath of right hand in a conference room on the second floor of the Eckers building. The ceremony was brief and lasted less than three minutes without the presence of the President, and the oath was given by Federal Reserve Councillor Randall, a more junior colleague. Two journalists took photographs of the scene: deep blue suit, steady eyes, and no one spoke。

On that day, he was 65 years old and officially succeeded the 16th Federal Reserve, with an annual salary of $200,000. If he were to be measured against the criteria of the first four successors in this position, he would not appear to be qualified。

Greenspan took a Ph.D. in economics at New York University and had been in private economic consulting for 30 years before his appointment, before Reagan was admitted to the White House as a "market translator" in Washington and New York. Bernanke, former head of the Department of Economics at Princeton University, his 1980s paper on the Great Depression, was later considered to be the theoretical basis of central bank policy at the beginning of the 21st century. Jerome was a doctor at Yale, a half-life scholar at the Berkeley School of Economics, the first woman to ever chair。

Powell had no background in economics, undergraduated in political science in Princeton and then went to Georgetown to study law. Strictly speaking, he is a lawyer. Powell entered the Treasury Department in Old Bush, with the highest rank of deputy minister, and then became a partner for nearly 10 years at the Kerey Group. In 2012, Obama nominated him and a Democrat economist to the Federal Reserve Council as a political balance. He had been on the board for five years, and no one had paid special attention to him。

If we go back, we'll have to go back to 1978 in the case of a non-economist chair like him。

In March 1978, United States President Jimmy Carter sent a man named G. William Miller into the Ackers Building. Miller was formerly the CEO of Textron, a military industrial enterprise, selected by the Carter administration partly because he had a good relationship with the labour community and thought that he could “manage inflation but not be too tough”。

BUT MILLER SAT ON THAT CHAIR FOR 17 MONTHS, AND HE TOOK THE CPI FROM 6% TO 12%, AND THE DOLLAR WENT THROUGH THE WORST CRISIS IN THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET SINCE WORLD WAR II. IN AUGUST 1979, CARTER KICKED HIM OUT TO BE A FINANCE MINISTER, LET PAUL VOLCKER TAKE OVER THE FED, AND THE REST WAS WRITTEN INTO ALL THE CENTRAL BANK TEXTBOOKS: VOLCKER PUSHED INTEREST RATES TO 20 PERCENT, DOUBLE-DEPRESSION, COLLAPSE OF INFLATION, AND THE US ECONOMY INTO THE 1980S。

After almost 40 years, Miller never sat on a non-economist chair. Until Powell。

FIVE YEARS ON THE BOARD, POWELL WAS ALMOST TRANSPARENT. FROM HIS SWEARING-IN IN MAY 2012 TO HIS ASSUMPTION OF THE PRESIDENCY IN FEBRUARY 2018, HE VOTED FOR THE MAJORITY IN FOMC WITHOUT ANY OBJECTION. HIS DAY-TO-DAY WORK IS ON THE TECHNICAL ISSUES OF FINANCIAL REGULATION AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS, FAR FROM MAGNESIUM LIGHTS. MY COLLEAGUE LATER RECALLED THAT THE MOST SPECIAL PART OF HIS PERIOD WAS NOT THE PAPER OR THE SPEECH, BUT THE TELEPHONE CALL. HE WANTED TO BYPASS ACADEMIC PAPERS AND OFFICIAL DATA, LISTEN TO THE MARKET LINERS, CALL THE BANKER, CALL THE BOND DEALER AND CALL THE CORPORATE FINANCE DIRECTOR. DOZENS OF SUCH CALLS PER WEEK AT THE EXPENSE OF A BOARD MEMBER ARE SOMETHING THAT OTHER ACADEMIC COLLEAGUES WOULD NOT DO。

On the afternoon of 2 November 2017, United States President Trump announced the nomination of Powell to replace the Fed Chairman at the White House Rose Garden. Trump made a strong statement, and Powell said a restraining phrase, focusing on the words "the twin mission of achieving employment and price stability"。

THAT NIGHT, WALL STREET'S MAIN TRADER'S MEMOS TO CLIENTS WERE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME JUDGEMENT, THE CONTINUATION OF MODERATION AND THE NEED FOR MARKETS TO BE FREE. THERE WAS SOME DISSIMILAR VOICES AT THE COLLEGE, AND SEVERAL ECONOMISTS INTERVIEWED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES THAT DAY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER A LAWYER COULD LEAD FOMC AT A CRITICAL TIME, BUT THOSE FEARS WERE SOON FLOODED IN THE HAPPY FINANCIAL NEWS。

In less than a year, Powell made a structural change. He changed the press conference that followed the Fed ' s meeting from four times a year to every meeting and spoke in the most routine language, almost without academic terminology. The "constructive ambiguity" that Greenspan was proud of has not been the Fed's communication style since that year. But this new style hasn't gotten used to it yet, since March 2020。

Every choice is unprecedented

"We will continue until the work is done. — Jerome Powell, August 26, 2022

MARCH 15TH, 2020 IS SUNDAY. LATER IN THE AFTERNOON, POWELL CONVENED AN EMERGENCY FOMC MEETING IN THE ECKERS BUILDING, WHICH WAS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE THREE DAYS LATER, AND HE WAS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. AFTER THE MEETING, THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS THAT THE INTEREST RATE OF THE FEDERAL FUND WOULD BE REVISED DOWNWARDS BY 100 BASIS POINTS TO 0-0.25 PER CENT, THAT THE $70 BILLION ASSET PURCHASE WOULD BE INITIATED AND THAT THE DOLLAR SWAP WOULD BE OPENED WITH THE FIVE MAJOR CENTRAL BANKS. THIS IS THE MOST RADICAL MOVE IN THE HISTORY OF THE FED。

AT THAT MOMENT, THE NEW CORONARY VIRUS SWEPT ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, THE ICU BED WAS RUNNING OUT OF USE, THE US EQUITY HAD BEEN TRIGGERED TWICE IN THE PAST WEEK, AND THE NATIONAL DEBT MARKET HAD SEEN THE LOSS OF LIQUIDITY THAT COOLED THE BACK OF ALL TRADERS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE DEEPEST MARKET IN THE WORLD, AND THERE WERE A FEW TRADING DAYS WHEN NO ONE WAS WILLING TO TAKE THE OFFER FROM THE UNITED STATES TREASURY。

IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, POWELL LAUNCHED A NEW TOOL ALMOST EVERY FEW DAYS. ON MARCH 17, THE COMMERCIAL PAPER FINANCING INSTRUMENT, MARCH 19, THE CURRENCY MARKET MUTUAL LENDING INSTRUMENT, MARCH 23, THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF UNLIMITED QE, TALF RESTART, THE MAIN STREET LOAN SCHEME, AND APRIL 9, THE EXPANSION OF THE CORPORATE DEBT PURCHASE PLAN TO $2.3 TRILLION. THESE TOOLS HAVE BREACHED THE BORDERS OF THE FED OVER THE YEARS。

THE PURCHASE OF CORPORATE DEBT WAS EXPLICITLY REJECTED BY BERNANKE IN 2008, BYPASSING BANKS TO LEND DIRECTLY TO SMES, AND NOT EVEN WITH THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008. IT TOOK BERNANKE ALMOST THREE MONTHS TO START THE FIRST ROUND OF QES IN THE FALL OF 2008 WHEN LEHMAN COLLAPSED, AND POWELL WENT FROM EMERGENCY INTEREST ON MARCH 3 TO UNLIMITED QES, WHICH TOOK ONLY 20 DAYS。

ON MAY 17, POWELL, SITTING IN FRONT OF THE CBS 60 MINUTES INTERVIEW, SAID, "WE WON'T RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION. HE'S NOT SHOUTING, HE'S MAKING A COMMITMENT TO THE MARKET. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A FEW MONTHS, THE VOICES OF HIS "NOT LIKE A FED PRESIDENT" WERE SILENCED。

But the biggest mistake he made began with this quiet。

IN THE SPRING OF 2021, CPI STARTED JUMPING UP AGAINST THE SAME READING. APRIL 4.2%, MAY 5.0%, JUNE 5.4%. POWELL AND HIS TEAM OF ECONOMISTS HAVE MADE A "TEMPORAL" JUDGMENT. THEY CONSIDER IT TO BE A DISTURBANCE CAUSED BY THE OUTBREAK TO DISRUPT THE SUPPLY CHAIN, WHICH WILL RECEDE ON ITS OWN FOR SEVERAL QUARTERS. IT'S NOT AN APATHY. IT'S TRUE. POWELL REPEATEDLY STATED AT THE INTERNAL MEETING THAT HE WAS NOT WILLING TO STEP ON A RECOVERING LABOUR MARKET BECAUSE OF A WAVE OF CYCLICAL DISTURBANCES. OF THE MILLIONS WHO LOST THEIR JOBS DURING THE EPIDEMIC, A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION ARE LOW-INCOME AND ARE BEING RE-EMPLOYED。

So throughout 2021, the Fed maintained zero interest rates and continued to buy $120 billion in assets every month. Powell explained in daily language at every press conference why the hike should wait。

Inflation did not wait. September 5.4%, October 6.2%, November 6.8%. The college, Wall Street, Republican Senate seats, questioned the return of a new form: a lawyer could not understand what an economist was saying and sent the United States into an inflation crisis. Former finance minister Larry Summers wrote in the Washington Post column that he had never seen fiscal and monetary policy so out of step with reality。

On the morning of 30 November, Powell testified before the Senate Banking Commission. Asked about inflation, he said, "I think it might be a good time for the word (temporary inflation) "retired" to try to explain our meaning more clearly."

This is not a forced mistake. No journalist asked, and no congressman asked him to give up "temporary". He chose to say it himself。

After admitting the error, Powell moved as fast as possible。

25 basis points in March 2022, 50 basis points in May, 75 basis points in June. This is the largest single-rate hike since the Greenspan austerity cycle in 1994. Add 75 basis points in July. The market initially understood this rhythm as a “compensation” that the Fed would soon return to a moderate path. On August 26, the global central bank president opened in closed session at Jackson Hall Hill as scheduled, where the market expected Powell to calm the mood and leave a message about the possibility of a "policy shift"。

At 10 a.m., Powell came to the rostrum to begin his presentation. As is customary, it usually takes half an hour to deliver a presidential speech on such occasions. But that morning, Powell didn't look at the gallery typograph, and the speech lasted only eight minutes. He did not talk about the academic framework, did not discuss the complex transmission mechanism, did not give any hints about pigeons, but only conveyed three points: Price stability is the Fed’s responsibility, and the increase in interest rates will cause pain, and we will do it。

The last sentence of the speech was, "We'll keep going until the work is done." ”The reader immediately heard it in the language of an old president. Keeping at it, this is Paul Volcker's book of 2018 memoirs. Volcker's anti-inflation campaign in 1979 brought interest rates to 20 per cent and the economy into a double-dip recession, and he then summed it up in three words. Powell mentioned Volcker three times in an eight-minute speech. He didn't have a Biff, but he chose Volcker's words as his end。

At the end of the speech, the standard 500 fell by 3.4 per cent and the index fell by 3.9 per cent. This is the last time the market is disappointed with a "renewal of moderation" commitment。

He knew that it would fall and he did. It was the first time that he had been in the office of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve for four years that he had shown everyone that he did not intend to be defined in his own past。

AFTER JACKSON HALL, POWELL'S HIKE DIDN'T STOP. SEPTEMBER 75 BASE POINT, NOVEMBER 75 BASE POINT, DECEMBER 50 BASE POINT. IN MARCH 2023, SILICON VALLEY BANK (SVB) COLLAPSED IN 48 HOURS, THE SECOND LARGEST BANK IN AMERICAN HISTORY. POWELL DID ANOTHER THING THAT WENT BEYOND MARKET EXPECTATIONS: HE CONTINUED TO RAISE INTEREST RATES AT 25 BASIS POINTS WHILE CREATING THE BANK'S PERIODIC FINANCING SCHEME (BTFP) TO SAVE BANKS。

This "both hands" is not easily understood in the traditional central banking framework, because liquidity and austerity policies should be directed in the opposite direction. But Powell is not a textbook guy. He saw "system stability" and "inflation target" as two separate things: saving banks with one set of tools and using another set of tools to contain inflation. It's a lawyer-style tool thinking about what to use to solve a problem and not let the logic of one thing crush another。

By the time of the last increase in July 2023, the interest rate on federal funds had reached 5.25 to 5.50 per cent, the highest level in 22 years. Accumulated 525 basis points for the entire interest-bearing cycle。

INFLATION HAS FINALLY BEGUN TO FALL. JUNE 2024 CPI RETURNED 3.0 PER CENT AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR 2.9 PER CENT. THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINED CLOSE TO HISTORICAL LOWS THROUGHOUT THE INTEREST-RATE CYCLE, WITHOUT THE SHARP RISE THAT HAD OCCURRED DURING THE TYPICAL RECESSION. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 1980S THAT THE FED HAS PUSHED DOWN HIGH INFLATION WITHOUT ALLOWING THE ECONOMY TO PLUNGE INTO A WIDESPREAD RECESSION。

Economists later argued whether he was "lucky" and that the particular nature of the epidemic had made his tools more effective than in theory, and that the fall in energy prices had helped him. This controversy will continue。

In the last press conference, Powell summed up these eight years as follows: "We have actually experienced four supply shocks: the epidemic, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, customs duties, and now oil prices are soaring in Iran. Each supply shock has the capacity to push up inflation and unemployment, and it is difficult for central banks to know what to do. “It is this macro-environment that has not existed for decades, and every unprecedented move the Fed has been forced to make this morning’s session the most divisive since 1992。

But in the eight minutes on the morning of August 26, 2022, his judgment was true, his risk was real, he chose not to be wrongly defined in his 2021s, and it was true。

The Night's Watch in the door

"I WILL NOT RESIGN. – JEROME POWELL, NOVEMBER 7, 2024

On the afternoon of 11 January 2026, Powell recorded a video in a conference room in the Eckers building. The background is the Fed badge. He said to the camera, “This criminal charge threatens the right of the Fed to set interest rates based on the best judgement of the public, not on the preferences of the President.”

The video was released by the official Federal Reserve account that evening. The global financial media almost refreshed the headlines at the same time. This is the first direct and open confrontation in the history of the Fed with the United States administration in this way。

The incident took place a few days ago. The United States Department of Justice issued a grand jury summons to Powell to initiate a criminal investigation against him on the basis of the Fed headquarters renovation project. The reasons given by the Ministry of Justice were over-expenditure on the budget of the project and irregularities in the procurement process。

But everybody knows what's going on. Over the past 12 months, President Trump has repeatedly asked Powell to reduce interest rates in line with his tariff policy. Powell kept his pace for "We don't have such political considerations". This criminal investigation is the form of revenge chosen by the President when he feels he has exhausted the usual means. Powell didn't use the word "retaliation" in the video. But he used a word that almost everyone could understand。

To understand why this moment happened, it was necessary to go back eight years, beginning with Powell's first conflict。

In December 2018, Powell ' s Federal Reserve carried out its fourth interest rate hike in that year, pushing federal fund interest rates to 2.25 per cent-2.50 per cent. The market was tired of continuing austerity, and 500 times a week before Christmas fell into Bear City. Trump broke the decades-long tradition of the President of the United States of America not publicly criticizing the Chairman of the Fed and began to humiliate Powell on Twitter. He used words that no former White House owner could use。

IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE FED UNDERTOOK THREE "PREVENTIVE CUTS" AT 25 BASIS POINTS EACH, CUMULATIVELY 75 BASIS POINTS. IS THIS A SUBMISSION? THERE IS NO CONCLUSION. THE EXPLANATION GIVEN BY THE POWELL TEAM AT THE TIME WAS THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND THE WEAKNESS OF THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR AS A RESULT OF TRADE FRICTION BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES. HOWEVER, THE OPPOSITION INSISTED THAT THE THREE CUTS WOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN PLACE WITHOUT THE PRESSURE OF TRUMP。

Trump's second term began in January 2025. This time, his pressure on Powell was not Twitter, but a set of administrative machinery tools。

In April 2025, Trump introduced a new tariff policy. The market generally expects that it will push up inflation and lower employment, leaving the Fed in a stagnating position of "advanced employment and inflation." Trump had repeatedly called for a reduction in Powell ' s interest rates, and he wanted to see the negative effects of loose monetary policy on tariff-pumping。

Powell responded to the Chicago Economics Club speech on April 16. He did not directly refuse to decline interest rates, and he used a typical Powellian language: "We are in a better position to wait until the situation becomes clearer before any adjustments to policy positions are considered." In his speech, he used a well-known Chicago film line to ease the tension: "Living is fast, as the great Chicagoer Ferris Biller said. It's funny, but not in the financial market. Powell meant it was clear that the Fed would not fall interest rates for customs duties。

IN THE MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED, TRUMP THREATENED TO FIRE POWELL. THIS WAS ACTUALLY ANSWERED AT THE FOMC PRESS CONFERENCE ON NOVEMBER 7, 2024. THE SAME DAY, A JOURNALIST ASKED POWELL, "WILL YOU RESIGN IF THE PRESIDENT ASKS YOU TO RESIGN?" HE ANSWERED, "NO." ANOTHER JOURNALIST ASKED, "IS THE PRESIDENT AUTHORIZED TO DISMISS YOU?" HE REPLIED, "THE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW IT." BOTH ANSWERS WERE SHORT AND NO HESITATION。

The last time in the Federal Reserve's history, the Chairman faced such strong political pressure was in the 1970s. At that time, the Fed Chairman was Arthur Burns, a doctor of economics at Columbia University and a senior member of the Central Bank. This was the standard US Federal Reserve Chairman's curriculum vitae, but during his tenure, he was pressured by President Nixon to relax monetary policy in the period between 1971 and the 1972 presidential election by means of private calls, memos, White House senior staff. Later, the public Nixon tape showed that the President had told Burns openly that he needed the economy to “overheating” the election year. Byrnes didn't say no. As a result, in the 1970s the United States entered a decade of stagnation until Volcker took over in 1979。

Byrnes is a doctor of economics, Powell is a lawyer. But under pressure from the President, Powell did what Burns didn't do。

THE D.O.J. INVESTIGATION FINALLY FAILED. IN MARCH 2026, THE FEDERAL JUDGE CANCELLED THE SUMMONS ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT WAS “THE SOLE PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATION TO HARASS AND PRESSURE”, AND THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE SUBSEQUENTLY QUIETLY ABANDONED THE INVESTIGATION. THAT SAME MONTH, POWELL WAS AWARDED THE PAUL VOLCKER PUBLIC INTEGRITY AWARD IN A SMALL AUDITORIUM IN WASHINGTON. THE AWARDS CEREMONY WAS QUIET, BRIEF, WITHOUT MAGNESIUM LIGHTS, AND VOLCKER'S FAMILY WERE PRESENT IN THE AUDITORIUM, ALONG WITH SEVERAL FORMER FED MEMBERS AND ECONOMISTS. THE AWARD WAS GIVEN TO THOSE "WHO, UNDER GREAT POLITICAL PRESSURE, HOLD THE INTEGRITY OF THEIR PUBLIC OFFICE" AND THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE MESSAGE WAS "INDEPENDENCE AND INTEGRITY ARE INSEPARABLE"。

Powell won this award named Walker. During his tenure, Volcker himself, despite pressure from both the Governments of Carter and Reagan, has never faced a confrontation of such a degree as public humiliation by the President, threats of dismissal or criminal investigations. But Volcker faced only policy differences and Powell faced identity attacks from the highest political rights in the United States。

After Volcker in 1979, the Fed established a boundary independent of the White House, which was undefended during Powell ' s eight-year term。

At that press conference this morning, Powell formally answered a question that the market had repeatedly speculated about over the past few weeks. He won't really leave the Fed on May 15th. He will relinquish the post of President, but will remain as a member for a period to be determined. The reason he gave was straightforward: "What happened in the last three months left me no choice but to stay until I saw it all over." It was three months after the summons from the Ministry of Justice。

He did one thing with the power of the last President and did not make his departure an empty space for the administration. He stated that he would not be a "shadow president". What he wants is not the influence of monetary policy, but the position of the Night's Watch。

On May 15th, he will still move out of the President's office and leave it to Kevin Walsh. Powell's desk, however, will not be removed from the Eckers building, but will be replaced by one floor and one room。

Good Afternoon

At this morning's press conference, a direct question was asked about how history would evaluate his eight-year presidency and legacy, and he said, "Let others judge."

Eight years ago, when Powell was sitting in this office, no one thought he could get here. In eight years, he experienced an unforeseeable epidemic, a perceived temporary inflation, and a political pressure that almost collapsed the Fed’s independence. But May 15 is not the end, more like a mid-term break. After Powell left office, all the forces that pushed him to the corner remained there, leaving the market with three problems。

THE FIRST QUESTION IS, HOW LONG IS THE MONETARY POLICY FRAMEWORK HE LEFT BEHIND? IN AUGUST 2020, POWELL ANNOUNCED IN JACKSON HALL THAT THE FED WOULD ADOPT A "FLEXIBLE AVERAGE INFLATION TARGET" THAT WOULD ALLOW INFLATION TO BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN 2% OVER TIME. THE FRAMEWORK WAS REASONABLE IN AN ERA OF LOW INFLATION, BUT HIGH INFLATION IN 2021 MADE IT APPEAR TO BE SLOW. FOMC HAS ALREADY INITIATED AN INTERNAL REVIEW. THE NEXT PRESIDENT WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO MODIFY, RETAIN OR ABANDON。

The second issue is central bank independence. In the past eight years, Powell has carried almost all forms of pressure from the White House. He kept the borders of the central bank separate from the White House under the three short sentences of "no" and "not allowed by law." But this border is now on a new water level. It did not fail and is no longer a tacit fact. When the next President came into the office, no one would ever think that the White House would not do anything。

The third question is most difficult to answer. What political climate will the next President face? Trump has two more years for his second term. Whoever the next President will not have a relatively calm start, as Powell took over. The moment he sat in the office, the moment he waited outside was no longer a moderate policy debate, but a series of exploratory techniques that were condensed in the eight years 2018 to 2026. These instruments will come back。

Throughout the eight years of Powell's tenure, social media have used a dynamic engraving, which has been turned out of each session. The GIF map was based on the press release room of the Eckers Building, where Powell went to the podium, sorted the microphone, and said two words: "good afternoon", and then the various asset markets collapsed in the instant of the sound。

It first appeared in December 2018, when netizens used it to make fun of Powell's falling every time he opened the stock market, calling it the Powell crash。

But after eight years, the note to the bar changed。

The lawyer, who was considered "not fit enough " , carried the crash in the outbreak, admitted the error in inflation and corrected it with the fastest possible speed, holding the border in the face of all pressure from the White House. Every time he came to the podium and said those two words, he knew that the market would fall and that the President would scold him on Twitter. But he stood out every time。

The opening statement, which was taken as a joke, eventually became the most modest and powerful commitment of an era. He never learned how to keep the market down, but he always came out on time。