News about Jerome Powell

Kevin Warsh officially succeeded Jerome Powell as Fed chair on May 22, but the article argues Powell's words still carry significant weight on Wall Street. In September 2025, Powell rarely commented on valuations, saying that by many measures equity prices are “fairly highly valued,” a remark compared to Alan Greenspan's “irrational exuberance” speech in December 1996. Using the S&P 500's Shiller P/E (CAPE) ratio, the article suggests the current market is likely the second-priciest in 156 years and is unlikely to be sustainable over the long run. Unlike Powell, Warsh has refused to offer forward-looking guidance on interest rates.

Former Fed chair Jerome Powell gave up the chair to Kevin Warsh on May 22 but remains a Fed governor, and his September 2025 remark that 'equity prices are fairly highly valued' still resonates. The article notes Fed chairs rarely comment on stock valuations, and compares Powell's comment to Alan Greenspan's 1996 'irrational exuberance' speech, which came more than three years before the dot-com bubble burst in March 2000. The author uses the Shiller P/E (CAPE) ratio, which he says has a record of foreshadowing short-term moves in major U.S. indexes, and suggests the market is likely the second-priciest in 156 years. Warsh, by contrast, has avoided offering forward-looking guidance in any form.