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At top of Fed, a dispute on policy picks up steam
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s top deputies are edging towards an open dispute over basic elements of monetary policy in a clash that could shape the pace of interest-rate hikes in coming months as well as longer-term questions of how policy is conducted. Fault lines are emerging across immediate issues like the estimate of the current neutral rate of interest, an abstract but critical variable that serves as a sort of speed limit on the current pace of interest-rate hikes. There are also long-term issues such as how the Fed should prepare for and combat the next economic downturn. All involve technical ... (full story)