Powell forced to stave off uprisings in markets and on his own Fed board as his term ends

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces if not the most difficult challenge of his time in office at least the trickiest in his final months as head of the all-powerful U.S. central bank.

Fresh off his surprisingly tough talk Wednesday on the potential for another interest rate cut in December, Powell will have to steer his way through a suddenly contentious atmosphere among policymakers that will make whichever direction the Fed chooses divisive.

While it's not the existential economic threat posed by the Covid pandemic in 2020, it nevertheless indicates a level of peril uncommon for the institution.

"December could get messy," Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave said in a client note. "We still think the Fed won't cut rates again under Chair Powell. But barring a clear signal