The Federal Reserve's response to the biggest spike in oil prices since the 1970s hinges on how long the energy shock lasts, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week. Right now, officials are watching to see what happens. “It'll come down to how long the current situation lasts, and then what are the effects on prices, and then how do consumers react,” Fed Chair Powell told reporters last week. “The economic effects could be bigger. They could be smaller. They could be much smaller or much bigger. We just don't know.” Conventional wisdom holds that, historically, the Federal Reserve has not responded directly to oil ... (full story)