Warsh’s hawkish debut signals a tightening era at the Fed

Kevin Warsh’s debut as Fed chair delivered a hawkish tilt that unsettled markets: inflation remains too high and a tighter policy path—with balance‑sheet adjustments and reduced forward guidance—appears likely. While he hedged on whether rates are currently restrictive and criticized relying on the Fed’s future signals, the market still priced in tighter policy, raising questions about how the new chair will communicate and implement policy and whether this signals an end to the market’s “Fed put.”