Jerome Powell expects Federal Reserve to taper bond buying before rate liftoff

Expect the Federal Reserve to start tapering its bond buying program before it starts to boost the federal funds rate target range, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in an online interview hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, DC.That's in line with what the Fed chief has been saying.Adjustments in monetary policy will be outcome-based (rather than calendar-based) and are highly unlikely before 2022, he said."We seek inflation that's moderately above 2% for some time," Powell said, although he's not defining how long "some time" would be. (Updated at 12:20 PM ET)"It's certainly okay to operate with five or six" members of the Federal Reserve board, Powell said. Currently, the board has seven of its eight seats filled.The Fed board has operated with as few as three members, and that was challenging, Powell said. (Updated at 12:25 PM ET)Powell hasn't met with President Biden, but he has weekly phone calls with