To try to get there first and that sort of thing so im hopeful we will very much try to learn as much as possible from that facility and from all the other ones too we have a lot to learn here. So well certainly be trying to do that. In terms of fiscal concern, so, you know, for many years ive been before the fed i have longtime been an advocate for the need for the United States to return a sustainable path from a fiscal perspective at the federal level. We have not been on such a path for some time, which just means that the debt is growing faster than the economy this is not the time to act on those concerns this is the time to use the great fiscal power of the United States to do what we can to support the economy and try to get through this with as little damage to the longerrun productive capacity the economy has possible the time will come, again, and reasonably soon, i think, where we can think about a longterm way to get our fiscal house in order, and we absolutely need to do that. But this is not the time to be in my personal view, this is not the time to let that concern, which is a very serious concern, but to let that get in the way of us winning this battle, really Edward Lawrence thank you, mr. Chairman Edward Lawrence from Fox Business Network given the amount of stimulus on the policy side, how much weight todo you give for finding a vaccine around treatment or not, the Federal Reserve pulling back on some of the feds actions and raising the rates from the zero lower bound . Also when does that main Street Lending facility get deployed . We talked about soon, some businesses are in need now thank you. Yeah. So we dont were not in a position to make, you know, a reliable assessment of when a vaccine or a therapeutic drug would be ready, so were not going to set our policies based on our estimate of that. Were going to just provide the support that we can with the tools that we have and were going to keep doing that until therecovery is well under way. In terms of main street, so you know the story we put out a term sheet. We got a lot of comments we took those very much to heart. We spent a great deal of time here its a challenging space because its many different kinds of borrows. They have different needs, different sizes of companies, and so as i mentioned were very close to announcing a new term sheet, which will then become operative fairly quickly my guess is, though, well keep looking to add products and different kinds of borrowers to that as we go. And were well aware of the importance of doing it as quickly as possible. Were very much in touch with the urgency of that need okay. Don lee. Its dom lee from the l. A. Times. I want to follow up on a question on the labor market i know you said that its highly uncertain, but, you know, there are analyst who is think that well have very high unemployment until even the end of next year, as high as 9 . And at this point, can you just talk a little more about what you see the path of employment in the coming months and into next year . Sure. So unemployment is going to go up to a high number in the Second Quarter uncertain what the number will be when and thats because so much Economic Activity has been shuttered really as we take social distancing measures so sometime fairly soon here and probably gradually and at different paces in different parts of the country well see the social distancing measures rolled back, people will begin to spend more money. Consumer spending has fallen precipitously. And once that starts to happen, people will get hired back and unemployment will go back down i dont think it will get anywhere near the historically low levels that we had as recently as february, 3. 5 i think it will take some time for that to happen, for us to get back to anything that resembles maximum employment but, i mean, the main thing we want is we want to get back on that road. We want to get that recovery going and get people back to work as fast as we can, not faster than we can but as fast as we can. The main thing is to get into that stage where the economy is healing, where we have the disease under control, where we dont, you know, take too much risk of second and third waves and that sort of thing and get people back to work. You know, again, the path of it is highly uncertain, but we will be there with our tools supporting the economy and supporting that recovery scott forceley. Thanks, mr. Chairman. After the financial crisis, banks were instructed to up their capital so they could weather an economic shock. What kind of steps do you think we need to take for the economy at large to make it more resilient to this kind of shock . Can you just say that youre a little bit low volume yes what kind of steps could we take to help the economy as a whole be more resilient to this kind of exogenous shot . Its an extraordinary, extraordinary shock unlike anything certainly thats happened in my lifetime. And a couple things come to mind i think the time will come for careful assessment of the answers to those questions its early to be asking them were still putting out the fire were still trying to win. And i think well be at that for a while. You know, but i point to a couple of directions you know, we worked hard to strengthen the banks, much higher levels of capital, liquidity, far greater sense of what the risks are that are running and how to manage them, so the breakdowns that weve seen in market function have really been in the capital markets. And i wouldnt rush in with regulation into the capital markets, and we did plenty of things, a lot of reform in the capital markets, money market reform, Triparty Repo reform, central clearing, all these important things, but there will no doubt be with this the size and force of this shock will no doubt reveal weaknesses in the financial architecture. And well have to go to work on those. I also think, you know, it tells you the importance of getting your fiscal house in order the u. S. Really hadnt gotten back to where we needed to get on fiscal policy and, you know, so we have an already high level of debt to gdp and rising quickly when this shock arrived. Now, we have the fiscal capacity to deal with it, i believe, but we will need to ideally, you would go into an unexpected shock like this with a much stronger fiscal posture. Mike mckey. Mr. Chairman, given the demand drop, demand shock and the dropping oil prices, do you anticipate that we might see any kind of deflation even for a very short period that would require a fed response if we get a negative brint on cpi or pce, how should people think about that and second question. There is a disconnect, it appears, between the markets and the Economic Outlook right now i know youve said this isnt the time to worry about moral hazard, but do you worry with the size of stimulus that you and the congress are putting into the economy there could be Financial Stability problems as this goes along . In terms of inflation, we think that inflation is very closely and strongly related to Inflation Expectations and during the Global Financial crisis, there was a concern that we might see deflation, but it didnt happen. Inflation tended to move down a little bit as it will when demand is weak, but Inflation Expectation did not move strongly down here in the United States they have in other places in the world, though, over the past 25 years. Theres been downward pressure on inflation really for several decades now. So i would say as long as Inflation Expectations remain anchored, then we shouldnt see deflation and the Federal Reserve is strongly committed to maintaining 2 inflation over time so well be there to work on that i think you asked really about that headline inflation. If low Energy Prices, very low Energy Prices were to drop headline inflation negative, i would hope that people would see through that, and well be monitoring it carefully, but see through it and look to core, which is a better bre dipredictf inflation. Needless to say well be keeping close track of that. In terms of the markets, our concern is that they be working. Were not focused on the level of asset prices in particular. Its just markets are trying to price in something that is so uncertain as to be unnoble, which is the path of this virus globally and its effect on the economy. And thats very, very hard to do thats why you see volatility the way its been, market reacting to things with a lot of volatility but, you know, what were trying to assure really is that the market is working, the market is assessing risks. Lenders are lending. Borrowers are borrowing. Asset prices are moving in response to events that is really important for everybody including, you know, the most vulnerable among us, because if markets stop working and credit stops flowing, thats when you see, you know, very sharp negative, even more negative economic outcomes so i think our measures have supported market function pretty well you know, were going to stay very careful, carefully monitoring that. I think its been good to see markets working again, particularly the flow of credit in the economy has been a positive thing as businesses have been able to build up their liquidity buffers and households have been able to be home, you know, people have been home concerned about their jobs but not concerned about their Financial System collapsing as they were in 2018 and 2009 okay. Chris from the a. P hi, chair powell. Thank you. I guess i had two questions. I wanted to start on the unemployment picture and nail down a little bit how you see things going from here you did talk about potential loss of skills over time so are you worried about structural changes in job markets that would keep unemployment high and therefore potentially beyond the ability of the fed to do anything about, which is something that was debated as you know after the last recession and then eventually of course the Unemployment Rate did go lower than people thought . And the second question is just on the money from treasury, the 454 billion it sounds like you want to keep that in reserve for programs that have high demand, such as the main street program. Are you willing to use that to back stop say a program that is having more losses whats your tolerance for loss among that 454 billion . Thank you. So in terms of the labor market, the risk of damage to peoples skills and their careers and their lives is a function of time to some extent. So the longer one is unemployed the harder it gets i think, and weve probably all seen this in our lives, harder it is to get back into the workforce and get back to where you were if you ever do get back to where you were so, you know, longer and deeper downturns have left more of a mark generally in that dimension where with the labor force so thats why, as i mentioned, thats why the urgency and doing what we can to prevent that longerrun damage. It doesnt have to be that way we wont be able to limit all of it, but we do have the tools to do what we can to keep people in touch with the labor force and working and also out of insolvency too it doesnt seem fair that people should lose everything they have including their homes over this. So nevertheless, there will be some of that, but we do some tools to e ameel yameliorate th. So in terms of the money, the 454 billion, its a couple things first the treasury secretary really has authority over that right . And it stands in front of our losses so, you know, but i do think we are were clearly moving into areas where there is more risk than there has been in the past, and thats okay. I think thats what were supposed to do this is a very unusual time. In trms of the way to think about that money, i think thats a question for the Treasury Department we set up the facilities and work very, very closely and successfully and collaboratively with the treasury on this, but that particular aspect of it falls more to the secretary. Nancy marshall ginser for the last question. Nancy marshall ginser with marketplace. Chair powell, im wondering what you would say to sabre saver with the low Interest Rates. And im wondering if you can give us more clues to how long you think well have Interest Rates near zero. We think that low Interest Rates affect the economy through a number of channels in a positive way low Interest Rates support Economic Activity through channels overall, through channels that we understand reasonably well. They make it cheaper to borrow they drive your costs of borrowing down they do raise as et prices including the value of your home or your saveable benefit from a 401 k but for people who are really just relying on their Bank Savings Account earnings, you know, thats youre not going to benefit from low Interest Rates. But, you know, we have to look out for the overall economy. Low Interest Rates support employment they support Economic Activity and those are our mandates and i think for the overall good of the economy, low Interest Rates are a good thing not to say theyre good for every single person, but that shouldnt stop us from doing what we think is good for the whole. In terms of how low, i dont want to speculate. You know, we will turn to questions like that soon enough, but in terms of how long well stay and under what conditions well stay at the effective lower bound, those are just exactly the things were thinking about right now we like the place we are. Weve said that well keep our rate where is we are until were confident that the economy has weathered the effects of the outbreak and is on track to achieve our goals. So thats where we are were not changing that guidance today. You know, but it will be that means were going to be very patient. That means were not going to be in any hurry to move rates up. Thank you very much thanks. Fed chair jay powell speaking to reporters Via Video Conference saying the fed is there to provide necessary support to support the economy during this unprecedented crisis welcome, everyone, to the closing bell. Im sara eisen here with wilfred frost. Stocks are higher, just off session highs, as the fed chairman paints a pretty gray picture of what the economy is looking at, characterizes the hit as severe, certainly on unemployment, on economic growth, on household spending, both in the short and medium term, which is getting a lot of attention. The medium term outlook has the risk that was characterized in the statement. And saying the Federal Reserve has already put in place extraordinary action to keep markets working, borrowers borrowing, credit flowing, and is prepared to do more and has more tools if needed, trying to send a message of confidence that the fed is here and calling on fiscal authorities to keep working as well to support this economy. The fed very much doing what it takes, not an optimistic outlook in any way, shape, or form for the economy we did see a fractional tickup in the long end of the yield curve in terms of yields, tenyear got up to 0. 63 , having been at 0. 59 earlier in the session. The dollar did weaken a fraction it was just lower, now down by about 0. 3 as you can see there on the yield curve a slight steepening of the yield curve today. Either way, we are near the session highs, still up 600 points plus on the dow the high of the session was 663. 3 gains for the s p 500, almost 4 for the nasdaq, sara, and the russell up 5. 4 , certainly continue a theme of late of those that have underperformed the most year to date. Energy 6. 7 . I would just say i dont think powell said anything that was unexpected in terms of the Economic Forecast and just how bad its going to get, what were looking at we got a preview in todays First Quarter gdp number as far as the guidance, he left it vague, openended, and said multiple times were not going to be in any hurry to withdraw the kind of stimulus that we are putting in place here on this economy. So trying to give people confidence also i think, wilf, trying to message around helping households who need it and why the Federal Reserve is not just trying to bail out wall street over main street, which is sort of coming up in the narrative now as the fed steps into places its never been before, for instance, buying riskier corporate debt lots to discuss and lots of people to discuss with it. Well break down all of the headlines from that fed conference with Sarah Bloom Raskin and others. Facebook, microsoft, tesla, ebay, qualcomm reporting after the close, which is about 39 minutes away well discuss facebook with the cfo, david wehner, shortly after the numbers hit. Earnings have mattered over the last couple weeks, a lot of afterhours movers joining us to react to that fed conference and the rally, mike santoli, michelle mayer, head of u. S. Economics at bank of america global research, and david zovos, chief Market Strategist at jeffreys and cnbcs Steve Liesman as well steve, ill start with you you werent in the room physically but you were metaphorically what was your takeaway on the tone we heard there from the fed chair . Sara said nothing groundbreakingly new, kind of hard to gauge whether the market needed to be surprised by what he had to say or not no, and sara is right for the moment that were in but its worthwhile, i think, and i wonder what sara thinks about this, to pinch yourself and remind yourself in the moment that were in historically, which is a fed chairman out there i was struck, wilf, by the extent