Powell was "silent" again today.

At an event at Stanford University on December 2, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said almost nothing useful—the reason is simple, next week is the rate-setting meeting, and he is in a "quiet period," which means he cannot comment on the economy or interest rates. The entire event was basically a tribute to former Secretary of State Schultz, which had nothing to do with what the market cares about.

But this does not mean we cannot grasp the Federal Reserve's thoughts.

Looking back a few months, Powell's statements at the Jackson Hole annual meeting in August had already revealed most of the underlying cards. That meeting announced the revised monetary policy framework—what are the core changes? Returning to a symmetric 2% inflation target, the expression of the employment target also became more neutral, which, to put it simply, is to leave more room for maneuver.

More critically, the shift in policy focus.

Previously, the Federal Reserve was fixated on inflation, but what about now? The focus has quietly shifted to the employment market. Why? Because employment data is clearly cooling, while on the inflation front, much of the pressure is considered to be driven by one-time factors such as tariffs, not a long-term threat.

In plain language, it means: The Federal Reserve is now more concerned about an economic slowdown rather than runaway prices.

What does this mean for the market? The expectation of interest rate cuts is still there, but the pace may be more restrained than the hawks imagine. Next week's monetary policy meeting will provide a clear answer — whether to continue cutting rates or to remain on hold and observe the data.

The only thing that is certain now is that Powell will not reveal any hints before the meeting.