Cue the taper talk? Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard told reporters following a virtual speech that he wants to begin tapering the ultra-aggressive $120-billion-a-month quantitative easing program this fall and finish it by the end of March. Bullard thinks this is necessary now that inflation is starting to heat up in […]
Federal Reserve
Jerome Powell: ‘Inflation could turn out to be higher and more persistent than we expect’
The Federal Reserve, as expected, did not pull the trigger on a rate hike. Will it ever? For an economy dependent on near-zero interest rates, the central bank will probably not raise rates for another few years. But that was not the biggest event to unfolding during the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. […]
IN DENIAL: Federal Reserve insists inflation will moderate after running hot in June
In June, the U.S. annual inflation rate surged to a 13-year high of 5.4 percent, coming in higher than most estimates. Even on a month-over-month basis, the consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.9 percent, more than double the market forecast. Most Wall Street surveys anticipate that inflation will run hotter for longer, potentially for […]
Federal spending surges, state spending falls — Why? Ask the Fed
By: Ryan McMaken In the wake of the Covid Recession and the drive to pour ever larger amounts of “stimulus” into the US economy, the Federal Government in 2020 spent more than double—as a percentage of all government spending—of what all state and local governments spent in 2020, combined. By the end of 2020, the […]
Will the Federal Reserve pick an inflationary crisis or a market crash?
The Federal Reserve shocked financial markets last week when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) moved up its plans for interest rate hikes by one year to 2023. It also raised its inflation prediction to 3.4 percent. The Fed kept quiet on curbing its unlimited quantitative easing program, noting that it depends on economic data. […]