POWELL: FED FACES “NO RISK-FREE PATH” ON INFLATION AND JOBS Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank faces tough trade-offs in balancing inflation and employment, with “no risk-free path.” Speaking in Rhode Island, he noted: 🔸 Growth slowed to ~1.5% in H1 2025 (vs. 2.5% last year). 🔸 Jobs cooled: unemployment at 4.3%, payrolls averaging 29K/month. 🔸 Inflation remains above target: PCE 2.7%, core 2.9%, driven largely by tariffs. The Fed cut rates 25 bps to 4.00–4.25% to address rising employment risks, but Powell warned against both easing too fast (inflation risk) and staying restrictive too long (jobs risk). Policy, he stressed, is data-dependent.(*Walter Bloomberg)