Jerome Powell, in his first of two days of testimony to Congress, repeated his message to lawmakers that the U.S. recovery still hasn't progressed enough to begin scaling back the Fed's massive monthly asset purchases. "The standard of 'substantial further progress' is still a ways off," the central bank chair said. On the ongoing hot topic of inflation, he said it's likely to remain high in coming months before moderating. But BlackRock's Larry Fink said he doesn't see price increases as transitory.