Janet Yellen’s progress in easing the Federal Reserve away from ultralow interest rates and paring its portfolio of bonds leaves a big challenge for her successor, Jerome Powell: how to keep the U.S. economy right where it is. Mr. Powell begins his term with the unemployment rate at 4.1%, a 17-year low, and the economy expanding at a 3% annual rate. Asset values are rising to new records, and financial conditions loosened last year even though the Fed eased its foot off the gas pedal.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 22, 2018 17:37 UTC