Jim Bullard, dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University and former Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis president, says the Fed will probably lower rates at the next meeting in September.
James Bullard, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, says he would seek to break down “group think” inside the central bank if he is chosen to succeed Jerome Powell as chair.
“The Fed is a research powerhouse,” Bullard says in interview with Bloomberg Television. “We could make more use of the various ideas that are proposed around the nation from the Fed. We could br...
I've said 100 basis points over the next as we go into 2026. So I think we could get started on that path. I think 50 sounds panicky. Sounds like the administration wouldn't be that confident in their economic program, which I don't think is the right stance to take here. I think they've got a pro-business program that will fire up the economy after we get through the initial phase of the new tariff policies, which is slowing down the global economy. But eventually we'll have very strong growth in the US economy and monetary policy has to be looking ahead and anticipating that. I do think the policy rate's high, but the committee is going to probably lower September here. You could speed up the pace of reduction if the data cooperates as we go through the rest of the year and into 2026.
Well, tell us what parts of the economy need a rate cut. At this moment, we were just talking with Mike McKee about how Fed officials, too, have been saying that rates look restrictive here. We're not at neutral necessarily when we're north of 4%. Where do we really need those rate cuts?
Well, I just think you would want to be as neutral if you felt inflation was coming down to 2%. That's why I've suggested that we can get 100 basis points lower. But, you know, you're looking through this inflation that's still CPI cause still up around 3%. You're looking through that. But still you want to get confirmation that inflation is actually coming down to target in the way that you would like. So you don't want to be too aggressive because you might have to you might get burned by the data, as the committee did last year. So I think, you know, you want to get on this path toward neutral and you want to keep watching the data, especially on inflation. And if inflation comes in too high or starts going up again, that would be the main thing that would disrupt the growth agenda for the U.S. So I don't think you'd want to get into that hot water if you don't have to.
Well, Jim, we're talking to you because you are, of course, on the list of people being considered to be the next Fed chair. And you confirmed you had talked to folks at Treasury and wondering what else you could tell us about the interview process and the process of choosing a new Fed chair. You've obviously passed the first test, which is you say rates need to be cut. What else do they want to see in a new chairman?
I did talk to the Treasury secretary relatively briefly. We did not go through, you know, ideas about what was required or job requirements or anything like that. I was under the impression that that process is still under construction for interviewing all these candidates. And, you know, at that point, we can discuss in more detail. So I just said that I'd be happy to participate in that process.
I do not. And but that's why I say that I think this is all under construction. So we'll see how they want to design it, and I'm sure it'll be a good process. I would say this is a credible list of candidates. I know almost all these people. I think this is a very sharp group and many of these people would do a fantastic job.
8 more exchanges in this transcript
Sign in free to read the rest of this interview. No card required.
