August 25, 2025· 29 min

Tom Barkin on Why Central Banking Is on Hard Mode Now

Orality
Model
78%
Oral-dominant (speeches, podcasts, storytelling)

Speaker Breakdown

HostJoe Weisenthal(1,228 words)
M:29%
HostTracy Alloway(3,714 words)
M:28%
GuestTom Barkin(974 words)
M:29%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic29%
very, obviously, basically
Engagement84%
you, our, your
Memory Aids100%
listen, now, right
Repetition100%
know (94x), think (54x), like (50x)
Parallelism68%
And I'm Joe Weisenthal...., And we will have gotten well, ..., And this afternoon, as we're r...
Sound Patterns65%
46 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"
Formulaic Phrases8%
you know what, i mean, believe it or not

Literate Indicators

Hedging8%
may, could, maybe
Passive Voice3%
was concerned, is driven, was even
Abstract Nouns27%
investment, business, chase.com/business
Subordination7%
because, however, though
Sentence Length32%
Avg: 13.1 words/sentence
Word Complexity46%
investment, analyze, anticipate
Academic Markers0%
Impersonal Style16%
593 personal pronouns found
Descriptive Style68%
apply, monthly, carefully

Description

According to Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Barkin, much of the time central banking is straightforward. Sometimes it's clear that rate cuts are needed. Sometimes it's clear that rate hikes are needed. Other times everything is going great, and central bankers don't have much to worry about. Right now though, things are not straightforward. There are signs of labor market softening. But also there are reasons to be concerned that inflation pressure is building yet again. In times like this, the playbook is less obvious. On this episode, recorded at the Jackson Hole Economic  Symposium, Barkin walks us through how he's thinking about the economy right now. More: Fed’s Jackson Hole Points to a Hard Road Ahead for Powell Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.