Fed's Musalem: We Have Limited Room to Cut Rates

Economic Outlook - The economy has been resilient, with growth around 18% [2] - The labor market is near full employment but cooling, with both demand and supply decreasing [2][13] - Inflation is closer to 3% than the 2% target [2] - Consumption remains resilient, driven by wealth effects for higher-income households and increased debt for lower-income households [6][7] Consumer Finances - Consumer balance sheets are generally okay, but there was an increase in subprime loan and credit card defaults over the past year, which has since stabilized [8][9] - Lower-income consumers are increasingly using credit card debt to maintain consumption [7] - Many people are having more month than money, with increased visits to food pantries and requests for utility assistance [27] Company Concerns - Companies report that uncertainty has plateaued, allowing them to operate with a higher level of uncertainty [11] - Companies are experiencing higher costs, including those related to tariffs and insurance [11] - Companies closer to the consumer are having difficulty passing on costs due to pushback from buyers [12][13] - Companies are more concerned about non-interest costs, such as raw material and insurance costs, than interest costs [21] Labor Market - The labor market is cooling in an orderly way, with both supply and demand decreasing [13] - Compensation growth is reported to be between 35% and 4% [6] - Layoff announcements have been made, but weekly claims remain stable [13][14] Monetary Policy - Monetary policy is somewhere between modestly restrictive and neutral, closer to neutral [26] - The real federal funds rate is around 1%, which is the long-run neutral rate [26] - In the past year, the real federal funds rate has declined by 250 basis points, with 150 basis points from nominal interest rate reductions and 100 basis points from rising expected inflation due to tariffs [19] - There is limited room to ease policy further without it becoming overly accommodative [24][25] - It is important to bring inflation back towards 2% to allow households to catch up with their real incomes [28] Asset Prices - Financial conditions are very accommodative, and asset valuations are notable [29] - House prices and stock prices seem elevated relative to historical standards [30]