Uncertain Fed Meets an Uncertain AI Future

Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin, and this week former Fed Vice Chair Randy Quarles takes us through the latest Fed decision, and we learn why one expert thinks AI may just be “normal.” If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up here for this newsletter.

In his news conference this week, Fed Chair Powell talked a lot about uncertainty stemming from the war in Iran: “The economic effects could be bigger, they could be smaller. They could be much bigger. We just don’t know.” Former Fed Vice Chair Randy Quarles (now head of investment firm Cynosure) says dealing with uncertainty is just what the Fed does: “That’s really behind the Fed’s regular mantra: `We’ll be data dependent.’” When faced with this “level of uncertainty,” Quarles says the focus has to be on “the fundamental drivers of the economy.”