Commentary On Jan. 26, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had to make a difficult announcement. At the Federal Open Market Committee’s press conference, Powell announced that Quantitative Easing would end in early March, earlier than expected, and the Fed was likely to announce the beginning of a tightening cycle at its March meeting. For any Fed Chair, embarking on a tightening cycle is a daunting and uncomfortable task. Every Fed tightening cycle eventually leads to a recession at best, while the last two have led to either a crash in stocks or an outright financial crisis. The prospects of Powell being able to successfully navigate a tightening cycle are slim to none. With inflation spiraling out of control, Powell had to do the one thing he did not want to do, which was put monetary policy on a tightening trajectory. Powell did not have much of a choice as both …