a third straight time.

But what# also made headlines was today's## announcement suggesting perhaps as# many as three rate cuts next year.

Stephanie Sy has the latest.

STEPHANIE SY: William, Fed Chairman# Jerome Powell was more direct he's been in months in saying rate# hikes appear to be over the economy is well-positioned# for a so-called soft landing.

JEROME POWELL, Federal Reserve Chairman: We are# seeing strong growth that is -- that is -- to be moderating.

We're seeing a labor market that# is coming back into balance by so many me and we're seeing inflation making real progress.# These are the things we have been wanting to see.

We can't know.

We still have a ways to go.

No one# is declaring victory.

That would be premature.

STEPHANIE SY: The Fed raised interest# rates 11 times starting in March of 2022,## but only once since this past May.

I'm joined now by economist Julia# Coronado.

She's the founder of ow n firm, MacroPolicy Perspectives,# and a former economist for the Fed.

So, Julia, let's get right into it.

Do you think we're done with# the series of ra we're done with them?

We have seen# those ra JULIA CORONADO, MacroPolicy Perspectives:# Yes, I think we're done with them.

And,## more importantly, Chair Powell# thinks we're And he didn't quite promise that.

They said# they want to they need to.

But he confirmed that most# of the policymakers on the committee do## not expect any more rate hikes.

And the next# move is now when and by how much to cut rates.

STEPHANIE SY: Right.

And that's the big headline, I think.

I mean, you probably expected that the pause in# interest r out of the 19 officials on the committee# agreed with a projection that the policy## rate will be lower by the end of next year# by three-quarters of a percentage point.

What was your reaction to that statement?

JULIA CORONADO: Yes, so it was a little bit# than we were expecting.

We thought they might# show just two rate cuts.

They showed three.

And the market is priced for more rate# cuts than that.

And Chair Powell did## not push back on that.

When he was asked, do# the markets have it wrong, he basically said,## we don't know yet, but we're going to follow# the data, and if inflation continues to come## in at these lower run rates, then# we can go maybe a little bit more.

STEPHANIE SY: But inflation is# still running, Julia, at 3 percent.

And when I talk to Americans, they still complain# about the cost of dining o rent and insurance.

Have we yet to see the full# impact of higher borrowing costs and inflation?

JULIA CORONADO: That's absolutely right.

And, actuall between low consumer sentiment numbers and# really good readings from a macroeconomist## standpoint is that prices are much higher than# they used to be, and people don't like that.

What a soft landing would entail or allow# is for the job market to keep going OK,## people continue to get wage raises, and# that will allow their purchasing power to## catch up.

Things like falling gas prices# also help consumer purchasing power.

So## it will take a little bit of time to catch# up, but the economy is actually adding up## in the right direction, that people# will start to see real wage gains.

They're already seeing real wage# gains, where raises are running at## a faster pace than inflation.

And over# time, it's not that prices are going to## come back down to pre-pandemic, but# your income is going to catch up.

STEPHANIE SY: What about interest# rates?

Will they come down,## and would that be what you expect,# to pre-pandemic levels nex JULIA CORONADO: We will -- the Fed is not in# a rush.

Chair Powell said they're going to## proceed carefully.

And we don't know how much# or how quickly they can cut interest rates.

So they're going to start a sequence of# rate cuts and make sure that the economy## doesn't reaccelerate or, importantly,# inflation reaccelerate.

So they're going## to be calibrating these moves with# the economy, with the incoming data.

Will rates come back all the way down# to pre-pandemic?

Not sure.

That's still## a long way from here, but I'm -- we're# all increasingly confident that rates## will be materially lower at the end# of next year than they are right now.

STEPHANIE SY: And what will the other impacts be# of today's policy statement announcement, Julia?

JULIA CORONADO: So, one thing that we have# started to see with rates coming off the## highs in recent weeks is that applications for# mortgages have started to pick up a little bit.

So they really took a hit when mortgage rates# hit 8 percent.

We have seen them coming down a## little bit.

So that's going to -- we have# seen people respond.

Consumers should see## even lower mortgage rates, given what# we heard from Chair Powell today.

Also,## when you're looking to buy a car, those car# loan rates should start coming down as well.

So, consumers should see -- consumers looking# to make those big-ticket purchases that require## borrowing are going to see a little# bit of relief on the borrowing costs.

STEPHANIE SY: All right, Julia Coronado with## MacroPolicy Perspectives, thank you so# mu JULIA CORONADO: My pleasure.