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Bloomberg Talks

Thomas Barkin Talks Fed, Interest Rates

Feb 8, 2024
Thomas Barkin, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President, discusses the current state of the economy, the Fed's stance on interest rates, balancing risks of employment and inflation, hiring trends, credit stress, and assessing risks in commercial real estate.
20:32

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The labor market stability is demonstrated by the decrease in jobless claims, indicating that workers are still being retained by companies.
  • Decisions on interest rates should be based on observed economic reactions to rates rather than striving to hit a theoretical neutral rate, which varies in estimation.

Deep dives

Strong Jobless Claims and Labor Market Stability

The recent jobless claims data show that 218,000 claims were reported last month, indicating a decrease from the previous week. This suggests that workers are still being retained by companies, demonstrating labor market stability. Additionally, there have been positive trends in job openings and payroll data, reflecting overall favorable economic conditions.

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