by Douglas Cliggott | Sep 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
It’s been a while since Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has been comfortable saying clearly and concisely that it was time for the Federal Reserve to lower its policy interest rate. But he did exactly that in his talk on August...
by Douglas Cliggott | Apr 25, 2024 | Uncategorized
The often-stated policy goals of the Federal Reserve’s policy making group (the FOMC) are “to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run”. These goals stem from the Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977, legislation passed by...
by Douglas Cliggott | Feb 28, 2024 | Uncategorized
In January 2024, the consumer price index, excluding food and energy – a measure of so-called “core” inflation – was 3.87 percent higher that it was 12 months ago (blue line below). The current Fed funds interest rate, the Federal Reserve’s primary policy interest...
by Douglas Cliggott | Jan 18, 2024 | Uncategorized
Inflation in America is no longer a problem. That’s the story line that dominated financial markets during the final two months of 2023. Bond yields tumbled as their prices rose (see chart), and stocks enjoyed a powerful nine-week rally – an equal weighted S&P...
by Douglas Cliggott | Jan 25, 2023 | Uncategorized
There is a belief shared by U.S. monetary policy makers and many financial market participants that a meaningful economic slowdown in the next 12-to-18 months will “fix” the inflation problem in the United States. The word “transitory” may have been stricken from the...
