Friday’s remarkable interview with the Powell, Yellen and Bernanke trio triggered a dramatic boost to risk appetite as Fed Chairman Powell made it clear that he is listening to the market and its concerns. The market saw echoes of Bernanke’s reaction (at a speech in July of 2013) to the May 2013 “taper tantrum” in this appearance as it marked a further and louder shift in the Fed’s confident stance on its current policy mix and supposed intention to maintain balance sheet reductions and gradually hike rates. Nonetheless, Powell continued to express confidence in the economy, thinks the market is ahead of the data in ... (full story)