'Soft economic landing likely out of Fed control'

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, fresh from winning United States Senate confirmation for a second term earlier in the day, recently acknowledged for the first time that high inflation and economic weakness overseas could thwart his efforts to avoid causing a recession.

For weeks, Powell has portrayed the Fed's drive to raise interest rates as consistent with a so-called soft landing for the economy. Under that scenario, the Fed would manage to tighten borrowing costs enough to cool the economy and curb inflation without going so far as to tip the economy into recession.