美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Picks Federal Reserve Insider Jerome Powell To Be Its Chairman

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Today President Trump¹ nominated Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve. The president said Powell will provide the leadership needed to sustain the country's economic progress.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He will provide exactly that type of leadership. He's strong. He's committed. He's smart.

SHAPIRO: If confirmed by the Senate, which is widely expected, Powell will replace Janet Yellen. Her four-year term as chair of the Fed ends early next year. NPR's John Ydstie joins us now to discuss Powell and how he might affect Fed policy and the economy. Hi there, John.

JOHN YDSTIE, BYLINE²: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: So first tell us about who is this guy.

YDSTIE: Well, Powell is a current governor of the Federal Reserve - so someone who has sat at the policymaking table with Yellen during her time as chair. And here's what he had to say today after President Trump announced his nomination³.

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JEROME POWELL: I'm both honored and humbled⁴ by this opportunity to serve our great country. If I am confirmed by the Senate, I will do everything within my power to achieve our congressionally assigned goals of stable prices and maximum employment.

YDSTIE: Powell is a Republican but was appointed by Barack Obama and has served on the Board of Governors since 2012. He's not a Ph.D. economist⁵ like recent Fed chairs. Powell was trained as a lawyer. Then he went to Wall Street and became an investment banker. He also served as undersecretary of the Treasury⁶ during the George H.W. Bush administration. He stayed in Washington - in the Washington area after that, where he was - he was actually born and raised here and became a partner in the very successful private equity⁷ firm the Carlyle Group. So he knows Washington.

SHAPIRO: It's a very important job. The Fed has the ability to adjust interest rates. That can affect economic growth, jobs. What is your sense? Is Powell likely to shake things up or keep the Fed on a steady course?

YDSTIE: I think he will keep Federal Reserve policy on its current course. He has voted with Yellen on every major monetary⁸ policy decision facing the Fed. He's clearly in favor of the gradual approach to raising interest rates and not convinced by some Republicans who've wanted faster rate hikes to avoid inflation. Here he is addressing those critics at the Economic Club of New York back in June.

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POWELL: The problems that some commentators⁹ predicted have not come to pass. Accommodative policy did not generate high inflation or excessive credit growth. Rather, it helped restore full employment and return inflation closer to the 2 percent goal.

YDSTIE: And he's clearly got that monotone Fed thing down.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: Delivering crucial information in a way that might put some people to sleep, you're saying.

YDSTIE: Exactly.

SHAPIRO: Another important thing the Fed does is regulate the big banks. President Trump has talked about rolling back the major Dodd-Frank overhaul¹⁰. Those regulations came after the financial crisis. Is Powell onboard for that plan?

YDSTIE: No, I don't think so - maybe some adjustments but not a major rollback. In an interview with CNBC back in June, Powell said that the post-crisis reform program has been mostly successful. And then he added this.

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POWELL: It's our obligation now to look back over it and ask, what aspects of it may be redundant¹¹ or inefficient¹² or utterly¹³ essential and should be protected down to every letter? But there are going to be some adjustments, and I think that's only appropriate.

SHAPIRO: So it sounds like the takeaway here is, though there may be a change in leadership - continuity in approach.

YDSTIE: Absolutely - continuity at the leadership level. But over the next year, Trump will have the opportunity to name several other Fed officials. And that could spark changes.

SHAPIRO: NPR's John Ydstie, thanks a lot.

YDSTIE: You're welcome.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

11 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

12 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

13 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。