Fed Chair Powell Warns That Cyber Attacks And Covid-19 Spreading Again Are The Biggest Risks To The Economy

Fed Chair Powell Warns That Cyber Attacks And Covid-19 Spreading Again Are The Biggest Risks To The Economy

Topline

In a rare televised appearance, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy is set to turn around as more Americans get vaccinated and flock back to long-neglected industries, but he warned that the pandemic remains the "principal" risk to the economy if cases spike as a result of reopenings happening too quickly and signaled that cyber attacks on financial institutions are the Fed's biggest concern at the moment.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell listens during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol ... [+] Hill, on Dec. 1, 2020.



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Key Facts





Speaking to CBS News' 60 Minutes, Powell said widespread vaccination and the federal government's massive stimulus spending has helped the U.S. economy reach an inflection point "right now" and that it should start to grow "much more quickly" as a result.





Despite saying he's "highly confident" that the economy will emerge from the pandemic "better and more inclusive" than it was before, Powell urged Americans to "continue to socially distance and wear masks" for the foreseeable future and noted that nearly half of the 22 million jobs