David Zervos, Jefferies chief market strategist and potential Fed chair candidate, spoke on CNBC earlier today.
If he were nominated and chosen, he may be the Fed member with the longest hair (man or woman) and with the most facial hair).
He said:
- The Fed is overdue for a rate cut.
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Not concerned about July PPI showing hotter-than-expected pipeline inflation pressures.
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Advocates for an aggressive move now to prevent labor market slowdown and potentially create 1 million more jobs.
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For the past three Fed meetings, has called for a 50 bp cut in the federal funds rate and reiterated that position.
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Believes monetary policy remains restrictive and the latest PPI data does not change that view.
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Would support up to 200 bp in cuts, and potentially more if disinflationary supply-side forces (AI, technology) materialize
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Says he would not be deterred by Trump’s criticisms and would focus on fact-based debate aligned with Congress’s mandates
Fed chair candidate list has grown from 3–4 names to nearly a dozen; Zervos joins alongside BlackRock’s Rick Rieder, Marc Sumerlin, and others. Zervos and Rieder would be different in that they are more market-focused vs schooled as an ecnoomist.
Zervos when pressed on that argued :
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The Fed would benefit from more market-savvy policymakers.
Marc Sumerlin, also a finalist, spoke earlier today and supports a 50 bp cut and says the Fed has been too conservative in fighting inflation.
Zervos said that he has known Treasury Sec. Bessent for a number of years and talks to him regularly. Bessent is leading the search team, but Pres. Trump will make the decision.
There has been a movement toward diversifying away from the standard central banker (i.e. economist or deep economic thinker). The idea is to diversify the thinking. As such Zervos and Rieder would fit the mold.
Recall, that Trump has criticized former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin for strongly recommending reappointing Fed chair Powell. Mnuchin and Trump are not exactly friends anymore.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.