In making his speech at Jackson Hole in August, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told us that he had a narrower focus than in previous meetings. “The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) overarching focus right now is to bring inflation back down to our 2 percent goal,” he said. It appears that such resolution — and the Chairman’s single-minded focus — may have ended after the FOMC increased the Federal Funds rate by another 75 basis points earlier this month. Despite several references in the text as to why inflation was likely to continue at a rapid pace — and well above the central bank’s 2% target — ... (full story)