Washington — US President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Reserve is making one thing clear as he prepares to testify before lawmakers: he’s not here to shake things up at the US central bank. Jerome Powell, in a statement to the Senate banking committee ahead of his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, signaled broad support for how the Fed operates, regulates and guides the economy, offering a full-throated defence of the government institution he’s about to lead. "Our aim is to sustain a strong jobs market with inflation moving gradually up towards our target," Powell said in the statement, which the Fed released on Monday. "We expect interest rates to rise somewhat further and the size of our balance sheet to gradually shrink." This keeps Powell firmly in line with the trajectory for monetary policy set out by current Fed chairperson Janet Yellen, who he’ll succeed in early February if he’s confirmed. Under Yellen, the Fed has raised rates just four times in two years and...
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