Fed is '“willing to put the economy into a recession," says Semafor's Liz Hoffman

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifying on Capitol Hill this week, answering a plethora of questions from the House and Senate on everything from the debt ceiling to real time payments. But many are left wondering if the central bank's ongoing battle with inflation will force the economy into recession. A promising JOLTS report on Wednesday showing that there are 1.9 jobs available for each job seeker, but a slowing economy and an elevated unemployment rate may be inevitable consequences of the Fed's interest rate increases. A prospect that Semafor's Business and Finance Editor Liz Hoffman says is not discussed enough. The Fed’s “willing to put the economy into a recession,” Semafor said. “I feel like we don’t say that loud enough and the market seems constantly surprised by that.”

Later discussing her new book "CRASH LANDING: The Inside Story of How the World's Biggest Companies Survived an Economy on the Brink," Hoffman detailed a number of companies who successfully navigated the pandemic, including Airbnb, whose CEO Brian Chesky took the company public shortly after the U.S. went into lockdown.

Key Video Moments:

0:01 The Fed's willing to the economy into recession

0:08 'The markets are constantly surprised by that'

0:18 It will be a 'fairly mild' recession'

0:40 How Airbnb navigated the pandemic

1:27 Chesky's fundraising to take company public.