Daily Times

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will highlight the central bank’s efforts to fight inflation and stabilize the US economy at his confirmation hearing, according to testimony released Monday. However, the Republican will likely also face questions about his ethics from a Democratic senator, after a media report raised further questions over whether a Fed official had traded securities to benefit from the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Powell’s testimony Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee comes after President Joe Biden nominated him for a second term leading the central bank as the US economy deals with a wave of record-high inflation that’s prompted critics to accuse the Fed of complacency. “We know that high inflation exacts a toll, particularly for those less able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation,” Powell will tell senators, according to the testimony.