Powell fires up markets, but some investors see reason for caution
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Investors cheered Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole address, which gave a green light to buy risky assets on the hope the central bank is ready to cut rates, but took his dovish message with a note of caution as they see a risk of stagflation ahead and worry markets are over-optimistic. In his final address as Fed chair at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, economic symposium, Powell hinted at a September interest rate cut but stopped short of committing, striking a careful balance between mounting job-market risks and lingering inflation worries. The speech on Friday came amid mounting pressure from the White House to ease monetary policy, which has raised market concerns that political influence will lead the U.S. central bank to become too aggressive in cutting rates in the future. "Powell definitely locked in that September rate cut and the certainty of that is rippling in a positive way across global markets,...