Stifel’s Lindsey Piegza: on the Fed, Inflation, Oil, Debt, & Why Orange is NOT the New Black for Powell

Lindsey Piegza is Chief Economist and Managing Director at Stifel Financial. In this interview, we explore several key economic and policy topics on the minds of investors, with Lindsey summarizing the outlook by saying: “The U.S. labor market is still very tight. Inflation is still too high. And the Fed therefore still has more work to be done.” We next discuss the recent rash of strikes and walkouts, the pace of progress on pricing pressure, and how “Chair Powell has been very clear that orange is not the new black. 3% is not the new 2” when it comes to his inflation target. The discussion then shifts to fiscal policy, federal government debt, and why markets appear to be pricing in more risk of long-term balance sheet deterioration (even if a full-on “debt trap” is not the likeliest scenario). We also touch upon the recent Middle East conflict and how it could exacerbate energy supply and pricing concerns. Finally, Lindsey gives a sneak peek at what she’ll discuss at the MoneyShow/TradersEXPO Orlando, set for Oct. 29-31, 2023 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. Register: https://conferences.moneyshow.com/moneyshow-orlando/?scode=061246