00:00It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
00:02Kevin Warsh was confirmed as the next Fed chair as rising inflation and a stabilizing
00:07labor market complicate his push for lower interest rates and a smaller Federal Reserve
00:12balance sheet, according to the Wall Street Journal.
00:15Fed officials held rates steady at their April meeting, while some policymakers signaled
00:20rate increases could be as likely as cuts.
00:23Inflation increased after the Iran war pushed energy prices higher, while March and April
00:28labor data reduced concerns about unemployment.
00:31Warsh also criticized the Fed's large balance sheet, which peaked near $9 trillion in 2022
00:36and now stands at about $6.7 trillion.
00:40Officials previously attempted to reduce bank reserves, but market anxiety forced the Fed
00:45to reverse course and increase reserves again.
00:48For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.
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