POLICY PARALYSIS?: Impact of Fed Reserve leaving rates unchanged

• Jerome Powell emphasized data dependency for future monetary policy, stating no decisions are being made about future rate cuts.
• Jeremy Siegel anticipates two more rate cuts this year, aiming for the low 3s, and characterized Powell's presser as a 'nothing-burger' but slightly dovish.
• Market odds for a rate cut are low for March (15.9%) and April (29.8%), increasing significantly for June (62.1%) and July (73.4%).
• Siegel highlighted the strength of weekly jobless claims data, while acknowledging recent corporate layoffs (e.g., Amazon cuts 16k jobs).

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the Fed is well-positioned to assess economic data before making future rate cut decisions, following 175 basis points of cuts since September 2024. Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel believes two more rate cuts are appropriate this year, despite current strong employment data, and views Powell's press conference as slightly dovish.