Source: Finance Association
① Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday evening (May 16); ② Since the next monetary policy meeting is scheduled to be held from June 11 to 12, Powell should be able to recover and attend the meeting before then.
On Friday (May 17) local time, a Federal Reserve spokesperson issued a statement saying that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday evening (May 16).
A spokesperson told the media, “Chairman Powell tested positive for the coronavirus late yesterday and is showing symptoms. As directed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he is working from home away from others.”
Powell and Dutch Central Bank Governor Claes Knott attended a special event of the Dutch Association of Foreign Bankers (FBA) in Amsterdam this Tuesday. At the event, he reiterated that the confidence needed to get interest rate cuts may take longer than previously anticipated.
Since the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting is scheduled to be held from June 11 to 12, and there are still more than 20 days left, Powell should be able to return to the conference in good health before then.
Powell is 71 years old. The last time the Federal Reserve officially announced that he had tested positive was on January 18, 2023. At the time, the statement mentioned “He has received the latest COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots.”
The Federal Reserve issued this statement because Powell was scheduled to deliver a speech at the graduation ceremony of Georgetown University Law School in Washington DC this Sunday (May 19).
Born into a family of law, Powell received a bachelor's degree in political science from Princeton University, a doctorate in law from Georgetown University, and later joined the bar. As a result, he is the first US Federal Reserve chairman without a doctorate in economics in nearly four decades.
Powell joined the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in May 2012. People familiar with him said that Powell accelerated his studies in monetary economics during his first year at the Federal Reserve. Many former employees said that he paid great attention to details, and even read footnotes to some economics papers one by one.
editor/tolk