Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was at the receiving end of a range of attacks from President Donald Trump ahead of the central bank’s last meeting. This time he could face unexpected guests at next week’s symposium in Wyoming: bats.
Powell and dozens of other economists and policymakers from the U.S. and abroad are set to meet in Jackson Hole next week for an annual symposium discussing the global economy and fiscal policy.
Bats Spotted at Jackson Hole Lodges in Recent Months
However, it seems a colony of bats may have booked an earlier reservation, as the Grand Teton Lodge Company, which operates lodges and cabins in the area, has received reports of at least eight bat encounters since early June, per the National Park Service. Rooms where the potential exposures took place in the Jackson Lake Lodge have been closed as a precaution, and the NPS says there is “no immediate threat to the public.”
State officials told the Jackson Hole News & Guide that there were enough reports that it was unlikely to be individual bats flying into a room, and the New York Times reported Friday that it’s believed the bats entered the lodge through a small hole in a roof, and spread to multiple cabins through a shared attic spaces. The spate of bat incidents does not appear likely to affect next week’s events, where Powell is set to speak at a pivotal time for the Fed.
“We are proud to host the Symposium at a National Park site,” a Kansas City Fed Spokesperson said in a statement to Investopedia. “We’ve been in close contact with the Lodge and are assured they are addressing this issue.”
Seven of the eight bats that have been captured tested negative for rabies, and another was released back to the wild, per the Times, while 259 have been tested statewide this year, with only two testing positive. Local health officials are reportedly contacting hundreds of guests who stayed in the lodges from May to late July that may have come in contact with the Jackson Hole bats.
Does This Mean Anything For Interest Rates?
No, next week’s symposium will not directly impact interest rates, as the Fed’s next policy meeting is in mid-September.
Trump, lawmakers, and millions of Americans are waiting to see if the Fed will cut its key interest rates at next month’s meeting, and how much rates may be lowered.
Trump has repeatedly called for Powell and the Fed to lower rates because of the effect it could have on mortgage rates and other areas of the economy. However, central bankers have been content to wait and see how tariffs will affect the economy, keeping their key interest rate at its current level of 4.25% to 4.5%.