Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told CBS ‘”60 Minutes” in an interview aired Sunday that the US economy is at a “tipping point,” with growth and employment forecasts.
Of interest: In his interview with CBS’s Scott Pelley, Powell said it is “highly unlikely” that the Fed would hike rates this year.
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Driving the news: “What we’re seeing now is really an economy that looks like a lot of tipping point, and that’s because of widespread vaccination and strong fiscal support, strong monetary policy support,” Powell said in the interview.
- “We feel like we are in a place where the economy is about to grow much faster and where jobs are created much faster.”
Yes but: Powell’s prediction is based on the fact that there will be no new wave of COVID-19.
- “I would say that the main risk to our economy right now is that the disease will spread faster,” Powell said.
- ‘We’ll see cases. They are at a much lower level. But we now see them going up. And that is disturbing. It will be smart if people can continue to distance themselves socially and wear masks. ‘
Threat level: Powell told Pelley that the risk the Fed most watched now was the threat of a cyber-breach. Officials are bracing for a range of scenarios – from payment disruptions affecting individuals and large financial institutions to the shutdown of the financial system.
- “There are cyber attacks on all major institutions every day now,” noted Powell.
- ‘And the government is working hard on that. This also applies to all private sector companies. A lot of effort is put into dealing with those threats. That is a big part of the threat assessment in today’s world. ‘
For the record: President Biden took office a month after it was revealed that suspected Russian hackers launched a massive cyber attack on multiple government agencies and US companies.
- The Biden government is working on an executive order to bolster federal cybersecurity after hacking into SolarWinds and the Microsoft Exchange Server – which was targeted by a cyber-espionage unit backed by the Chinese government, it was revealed earlier this month.
- Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas outlined a plan to counter online attacks earlier this month, saying the Biden administration is committed to a newly created Senate-confirmed national cyber director role for success, but the position has yet to be fulfilled.