Faster-than-expected inflation may complicate the task ahead for new Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell, who chairs his first monetary policy-setting meeting next month. It’s not that the January increase in consumer prices reported on Wednesday is necessarily unwelcome news; the fact that underlying consumer prices posted their biggest gain in more than a year in January helps validate the Fed’s forecast for stronger inflation that for years has underrun its 2-percent goal. The question is how the Fed, under Powell, will manage rising expectations in some quarters that the stronger inflation will require more ... (full story)