How This Fed Hawk Views the Economy, Inflation, AI and Jobs

In this week’s episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest host WSJ Chief Economics Correspondent Nick Timiraos are joined by Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, to discuss the state of the U.S economy, interest rates and the central bank itself. Hammack shares her views on what she’s hearing from businesses in her district and what that could mean for consumer prices and the labor market. She emphasizes the importance of Fed independence and the chairman’s role in fusing differing viewpoints to create stable monetary policy. She also offers her perspective on the so-called neutral rate as well as artificial intelligence. At the end of the episode, Telis and Nick analyze the interview, offering their takes on the outlook for tariffs, inflation and jobs. They also break down what influence the new Fed chair will have on the central bank’s rate-setting committee and how markets may react to the nominee. This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where we cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com Further Reading The Fed's New Rate-Setting Officials for 2026: Three Hawks and a Dove Fed Officials Spar Over Whether Rate Cuts Risk Credibility on Inflation Cleveland Fed’s Beth Hammack Skeptical of Further Cuts ‘We Still Have an Inflation Problem.’ A Fed Newcomer Wants to Go Slow on Rate Cuts. The Fed Did Banks a Solid This Week. More Favors May Be Needed For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices