In a pivotal moment for Democrats in the 50-50 Senate, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has revealed that he couldn't support the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin, citing her views on incorporating climate change policy into the Federal Reserve. The delay not only affects Raskin, but prolongs the confirmation process for Jerome Powell's second term, as well as Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson for Fed governor seats. Democrats had hoped to confirm all of them as a package, but Manchin's decision could push the Biden administration to ditch Raskin.

JPMorgan Chase’s is discontinuing a policy of hiring only vaccinated people and has ended mandatory mask wearing and testing for employees as cases fall and pandemic concerns ease. The move by the largest US bank underscores the desire by corporate America to return to some sort of normality following two years of masking, testing and remote work.

For much of recent history, a rise in bond yields signaled that a stronger economy was ahead. Yesterday, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note reached the highest it has been since 2019, and about four times higher than its pandemic low point in 2020.

That could be a good sign for the Fed, which begins a two-day policy meeting today. The Fed chairman, Jay Powell, has all but promised that the central bank will announce “liftoff” tomorrow by raising interest rates by a quarter point, the first in a series of increases. The Fed is worried about inflation, which is the highest it has been in decades, and Powell has pointed to Paul Volcker, the former Fed chair who is revered for taming the high inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s by aggressively raising interest rates, as an intellectual hero.