The Fed chairman is situated as the key arbiter of the economy and rules via its DUAL MANDATE. Given that it has a research staff of at least 500 economists the FED positions itself as ALL KNOWING, which is certainly okay as long as it accepts the consequences and lays aside the use of counterfactuals when its policies may turn out to be very misguided.
Posts Tagged ‘hawkish’
Notes From Underground: The Umpire Strikes Back
December 19, 2018Notes From Underground: Powell Seeks to Reestablish the Authority of Markets … Maybe?
October 7, 2018I am positing this idea because I think it’s critical to current valuations of various asset classes. The nine-year rally in the U.S. (and to some extent the global equity markets) has stretched valuations as ultra-cheap money has pushed investors into taking risks larger than what many money managers and retail investors would do “normal” circumstances. This was ultimately the Bernanke plan the former chairman laid out at Jackson Hole in 2010 (simplified in Bernanke’s Washington Post op-ed as the PORTFOLIO BALANCE CHANNEL). The long-term problem for investors is that Bernanke and Janet Yellen were terrified of market reactions whenever they desired to halt the massive QE programs and their beloved use of FORWARD GUIDANCE.
Notes From Underground: Oh, Janet, There Is A Santa Claus Rally Brought About By the QE Rain
December 13, 2016Yes, the day of decision is upon us and everybody is SURE of a 25 basis hike from the FOMC. IF I WAS IN CHARGE–NO, NOT JOSE CANSECO, WHICH WOULD BE MONETARY POLICY ON STEROIDS–I WOULD RAISE RATES 50 BASIS POINTS AND ISSUE A WARNING OF MORE AGGRESSIVE INCREASES TO COME. Alas, I am but ashes and dust. The FED has prepared the market for a certain 25 but here are the things to watch:
Notes From Underground: “Do You Presume To Criticize The Great Oz?!?!” (Or Stanley Fischer)
August 28, 2016When Janet Yellen delivered her speech on Friday morning the markets reacted to the dovish overtones via buying of SPOOS, GOLD, BONDS and selling the U.S. dollar. The initial action was less muted as the algo headline readers first though Chairwoman’s words mildly HAWKISH, but as key words were measured in context the sense was Yellen was being dovish in not leaning toward a September rate increase. Yellen did give us a significant barometer of data measurement. It seems that 190,000 increase over a three-month moving average is the FED‘s BOGEY. This Friday’s estimate is 180,000, which now puts more pressure on its importance because of September’s FOMC meeting. As usual, Yellen said,”… the economic outlook is uncertain, and so MONETARY POLICY IS NOT ON A PRESET COURSE,” (emphasis mine).