Jeremy Siegel Says Kevin Hassett Is A 'Very Good' Economist, But His Top Picks For Fed Chair Would Be Chris Waller Or Kevin Warsh

• Siegel expects the Fed to announce a 25 basis point rate cut following the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting next week.
• He added that he would not be surprised if it turns out to be a hawkish cut, one where the FOMC makes it clear that it is prepared to pause the cuts going forward.
• According to data from the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25 bps rate cut in December stood at 87.2% at the time of writing.

Jeremy Siegel, professor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, on Tuesday stated that while the current frontrunner for the Federal Reserve Chair position, Kevin Hassett, is a “very good” economist, he has two other top picks in his mind.

Siegel listed Fed Governor Chris Waller and ex-Fed official Kevin Warsh as his top two picks to lead the central bank.

“He is a very good economist, with a genuinely sunny disposition, and he has been a close adviser to the president across both terms, including as head of the Council of Economic Advisers and in the National Economic Council. But I believe his greatest strength is not in monetary theory and the technical side of central banking,” Siegel said in his weekly commentary.

25 Bps Cut Likely

Siegel expects the Fed to announce a 25 basis point rate cut following the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) meeting next week. He added that he would not be surprised if it turns out to be a hawkish cut, one where the FOMC makes it clear that it is prepared to pause the cuts going forward, depending on the economic data.

“That is exactly how a cautious committee behaves when the data are moving in the right direction, but they do not want to declare victory,” he said.

According to data from the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25 bps rate cut in December stood at 87.2% at the time of writing.

Hassett’s Chances

Data from Kalshi shows an 81% probability that Hassett will emerge as the Fed Chair pick. Participants on Polymarket were slightly less optimistic, with data indicating a 71% probability that Hassett would be picked as the Fed Chair at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the White House National Economic Council Director said on Sunday that he would be “happy to serve” as the next Federal Reserve Chair.

“I think that the market expects that there's going to be a new person at the Fed, and they expect that President Trump's going to pick a new one. And if he picks me, I'd be happy to serve,” Hassett said in an interview.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities gained in Tuesday’s pre-market trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up by 0.18%, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) gained 0.28%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) edged up by 0.03%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) was down by 0.04% at the time of writing.

Also See: EU’s Top Court Says Apple Can Be Sued In Dutch Court Over Allegedly Excessive App Store Fees: Report

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