The nomination hearings for Jerome Powell for a second term as Fed chair and Governor Lael Brainard to a four-year term as vice chair are out of the way. It will take a couple of weeks for written responses to questions posed by Senate Banking Committee members to be delivered and considered, but it’s likely that both will receive a recommendation by the committee in fairly short order and a vote before the full Senate. At least for Powell – whose current term as chair expires in the first days of February – a vote should take place to ensure there is no lapse. There have been one or two times in the past where the ... (full story)