Fed Closes Powell Era With Rates on Hold and Divide Over What Comes Next - WSJ

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/fed-closes-powell-era-with-rates-on-hold-and-divide-over-what-comes-next-0aec10c2 By April 29, 2026 2:01 pm ET Listen (7 min) WASHINGTON—Federal Reserve officials extended an interest-rate pause on Wednesday that revealed bigger divisions over whether to hint that further interest rate cuts are possible, marking a contentious conclusion to Jerome Powell’s eight-year chairmanship. Officials held their benchmark federal-funds rate steady in a range of 3.5% to 3.75% and, in their policy statement, made no changes to language that has signaled the next move in rates is more likely to be down than up. But that statement drew dissents from four out of 12 members, t

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