Cleveland Fed’s Mester Favors Hiking Funds Rate to 2.5% This Year; More in ‘23
– Probably Need to Hike by 50 BP at Some Point; Shouldn’t Be Off the Table – Upside Inflation Risks Outweigh Downside Growth Risks From Ukraine War – Must Be Willing to Adjust Policy; Go Slower on Rate Hikes If Inflation Moderates By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester […]
Former Dove Kashkari Now Says Fed Rate Hikes May Have To Get More Aggressive
– Bullard Explains Dissent In Favor of Higher Funds Rate By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari has built a reputation as one of the more “dovish” Fed policy-makers, but in an essay released Friday, he sounded distinctly less so. Kashkari, not a voting member of the Fed’s interest […]
FOMC Lifts Off from Zero with 25bp Rate Hike; 6 More Projected for 2022
– Powell Says FOMC May Move Faster If Needed To Reduce Inflation – Says Funds Rate Could Go ‘Beyond’ Downwardly Revised ‘Neutral’ Rate – Balance Sheet Reduction Plan Could Be Announced As Soon As May Meeting By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – After holding short-term interest rates near zero for two years to support a […]
FOMC: Qtr Point Hike As Expected; Few Specifics on Future Action
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday fulfilled expectations for a quarter-point fed funds rate hike, the first such since 2018, accompanied by a pledged to begin pulling back Treasury and Agency securities holdings “at a coming meeting.” The text follows: Indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. Job gains […]
FOMC Set to Proceed ‘Carefully’ on Road to Tighter Monetary Policy, But Ultimate Destination Unclear
– Must Decide Pace of Rate Hikes, Where Neutral Is, and Whether Neutral Is High Enough – Fed Getting Closer to Balance Sheet Reduction But Funds Rate Primary Policy Tool By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – It seemed virtually a foregone conclusion that the Federal Reserve would start raising short-term interest rates in mid-March after Jerome Powell’s […]
Fed’s Powell Will Ask for 25 bp Rate Hike March 16; First Of ‘Series’ of Rate Hikes
– But FOMC Will Withdraw Monetary Stimulus ‘Carefully’ To Avoid ‘Adding Uncertainty’ – Ultimate Aim is ‘Neutral’ Rate of 2-2.5%; Perhaps Higher; Must Act ‘With Care’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will not prevent the Federal Reserve from beginning to raise interest rates in two weeks, but it will make the Fed more cautious about withdrawing monetary […]
UPDATE: Pres Biden Upgrades Sanctions Vs Russia; ‘It’s a War Without a Cause’
By Frank Csongos and Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – President Joe Biden announced Thursday new economic sanctions on Russia to punish its military invasion of Ukraine. Biden denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin of waging “naked aggression” and pledged Russia will bear the consequences. “It’s a war without a cause,” he said. Biden said the U.S. […]
Fed’s Brainard Suggests Dollar Could Suffer If Fed Doesn’t Issue Its Own Digital Currency
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard linked the development of a digital central bank currency to preservation of the U.S. dollar’s primacy in international trade and finance Friday. The Fed is not ready to announce the issuance of a digital currency, but Brainard said the Fed is well along the […]
NY Fed’s Williams Nixes 50 BP March Hike in Federal Funds Rate
– ‘No Compelling Argument’ For Big Move In the Beginning of Firming Process – Affirms Market Expectations of ‘More Normal’ Funds Rate of 2-2.5% by end 2023 – MBS Sales Should Only Be Considered ‘Down The Road’ – ‘Confident’ Fed ‘Can Manage the Soft Landing’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – New York Federal Reserve […]
Chicago Fed’s Evans: Monetary Policy ‘Wrongfooted, Needs Substantial Adjustment’
– Expects Inflation to Drop; Still ‘Well Anchored at 2%’ – ‘No Extra Monetary Restraint Needed to Bring Inflation Down’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans predicted Friday that inflation will fall from its current rapid pace and said he doesn’t think the Fed will need to be […]