Nick Timiraos, known as the “Federal Reserve's microphone,” said that in the past, the Federal Reserve's default position was to “stand still” unless the data clearly supported interest rate hikes. However, after Walsh delivered his speech at Jackson Hole, many former central bank officials thought he had “rewritten the script”: the logic now has changed. There must be clear data reasons before the Federal Reserve can choose “no action” next month. If the next data and situation do not provide a reasonable excuse for “not raising interest rates,” the Federal Reserve will face an extremely difficult dilemma: either stay on hold, but this will re-ignite the fears that made the bond market uneasy in July; or choose to raise interest rates, but this will directly go against the will of the president who appointed Walsh, and the timing just a few weeks before the midterm elections is extremely politically sensitive.

Nick Timiraos, known as the “Federal Reserve's microphone,” said that in the past, the Federal Reserve's default position was to “stand still” unless the data clearly supported interest rate hikes. However, after Walsh delivered his speech at Jackson Hole, many former central bank officials thought he had “rewritten the script”: the logic now has changed. There must be clear data reasons before the Federal Reserve can choose “no action” next month. If the next data and situation do not provide a reasonable excuse for “not raising interest rates,” the Federal Reserve will face an extremely difficult dilemma: either stay on hold, but this will re-ignite the fears that made the bond market uneasy in July; or choose to raise interest rates, but this will directly go against the will of the president who appointed Walsh, and the timing just a few weeks before the midterm elections is extremely politically sensitive.