Page 28 - 110217

Groton Daily Independent
Thursday, Nov. 02, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 116 ~ 28 of 44
re-nominated by the president of the opposing party.
On Wednesday, the Fed announced it was keeping its benchmark rate unchanged but hinted that it’s
preparing to resume raising rates modestly in light of a consistently solid economy. In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed left its key rate in a low range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent. It’s expected to raise rates for the third time this year when it next meets in December.
Though Powell would be the rst Fed leader in nearly four decades to lack an advanced degree in eco- nomics, associates say he’s devoted much time since joining the board to schooling himself in monetary policy from the Fed’s stable of economists. He is well-liked inside the central bank and would be expected to bring a crucial ability to build consensus.
The Fed leader’s job is considered the government’s top economic policy post. The chairman has only one vote on the Fed’s committee of board members and regional bank presidents who set interest rates. But the chairman’s position is critical to achieving consensus.
The central bank’s power derives from its ability to raise and lower the federal funds rate, the benchmark that banks use to set consumer and business loans. If the Fed succeeds in managing rates, it can achieve its two policy goals — maximum employment and stable in ation. If it errs, it can inadvertently trigger high in ation or an economic downturn. Under Yellen, the unemployment rate has reached a 16-year low of 4.2 percent. But in ation has remained chronically below the Fed’s 2 percent target.
Trump has conducted his search for a Fed leader in an unusually open manner, with reporters kept ap- prised of Trump’s string of interviews with the nalists. Besides Powell, Yellen and Taylor, they included Kevin Warsh, a former board member, and Gary Cohn, Trump’s top economic adviser.
During the weekslong search, Trump often publicly discussed the process in interviews. Recently, he asked a group of Republican senators for a show of hands on the person they favored. It was far different from the approach of past administrations, which held interviews and discussions privately, with few hints of who was being considered.
Though Powell’s stance on rates would likely deviate little from Yellen’s go-slow approach, he might be marginally more favorable toward easing some of the stricter nancial rules that took effect after the 2008 nancial crisis. Trump has complained that those rules have been too restrictive.
If Powell does prove more inclined to ease some regulations, he would have an ally on the board in Ran- dal Quarles, a Trump nominee who has become the Fed’s rst vice chairman for supervision — a position from which he can lead the effort to loosen regulations.
The seven-member board has three other vacancies, thereby providing Trump with additional ways to put his imprint on the central bank.
Astros win 1st World Series crown, top Dodgers 5-1 in Game 7 By BEN WALKER, AP Baseball Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — From laughingstock to lift off.
George Springer and the Houston Astros rocketed to the top of the baseball galaxy Wednesday night, winning the rst World Series championship in franchise history by romping past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 7.
Playing for a city still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, and wearing an H Strong logo on their jerseys, the Astros brought home the prize that had eluded them since they started out in 1962 as the Colt .45s.
“I always believed that we could make it,” All-Star slugger Jose Altuve said. “We did this for them.”
For a Series that was shaping up as an October classic, Game 7 quickly became a November clunker as Houston scored ve runs in the rst two innings off Yu Darvish. Hardly the excitement fans felt during the Cubs’ 10-inning thriller in Cleveland last fall.
Well, except for everyone wearing bright orange. Back in Houston, a huge crowd lled Minute Maid Park to cheer as fans watched on the big video board, and the train whistle wailed when it was over.
“We’re coming home a champion, Houston,” Springer said after accepting the World Series MVP trophy named this year for Willie Mays.