New York Times (November 4)
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced a tapering of stimulus programs, but he did not “lay the groundwork for higher rates.” That doesn’t mean “the era of near-zero rates will last anything close to as long as it did after the global financial crisis,” but if the current inflation surge “proves something other than temporary, Mr. Powell’s decision to stick to his guns” on interest rates “will loom as a missed moment to join other English-speaking countries in using monetary policy to try to stamp it out.”
Tags: Fed, Global financial crisis, Inflation, Interest, Monetary policy, Near-zero, Powell, Rates, Stimulus, Surge, Tapering
Wall Street Journal (December 16)
“Financial markets took the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate ‘liftoff’ from near-zero in stride on Wednesday, broadly celebrating the 25 basis point increase in the federal-funds rate.” Given the late timing of the rise, however, this is very much unchartered territory. “The truth is that few people in financial markets are confident that anyone knows how this gradual return to monetary normalcy will turn out.”
Tags: Basis points, Fed, Federal-funds rate, Financial markets, Increase, Interest rates, Monetary, Near-zero, Normalcy
