Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell managed to thread the needle.
After unwittingly igniting several rallies in stocks and bonds with his mixed messages on the path of interest rates earlier this year, Powell this time was able to capture the nuance needed to explain the increasingly fraught path of monetary policy from here.
So not only did he suggest the central bank is on the cusp of slowing the pace of rate increases — one for the doves — he also said the rate at where the Fed ultimately ends up is likely to be higher than policymakers forecast in September — one for the hawks. Not an easy message to deliver, but one that came across loud and clear.