Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell continues to claim a "soft landing" is possible and the Fed can get inflation back to the 2% target without tipping the economy into a recession. He insists the economy remains strong and the American consumer is healthy.

I'm not convinced about any of this.

Keep in mind this is the same guy who told us pumping trillions of dollars into the economy during the pandemic wouldn't cause inflation and then that inflation was "transitory." The Fed has a pretty miserable track record when it comes to its economic projections.

The 75 basis-point rate hike wasn't a complete surprise after the May CPI data came in hotter than expected. Markets immediately began pricing in the hike. But just one month ago, a 3/4% interest rate increase wasn't even under consideration.