Esther George Calls Big Fed Hike ‘Abrupt,’ ‘Unsettling’
Esther George is a hawk.
Or at least that's what everyone thought, until she dissented in favor of a 50bps rate hike at this week's historic FOMC meeting, at which policymakers, sans Esther, agreed to the largest increase since 1994.
The move wasn't really a "surprise," though. Although officials were in the pre-meeting quiet period, they conveyed their intentions through the Wall Street Journal's "Fed whisperer," Nick Timiraos.
During his press conference, Jerome Powell was asked about the a
It’s nice to see such a thoughtful comment from Ms George.
How long before Bullard chimes in with another call for ultra-aggressive tightening?
The fed is a clean slate for people to use their imaginations. Nobody clearly understands their mandate, nor would they care if they did. Their job is reassure the public that there is a secret room full of kindly wise grownups who prevent the inmates from taking over the asylum…The longer I observe this, the more I respect things like the commitment of traders reports or charts. Observe the price action. Real money made it happen. The next time somebody tells you something about markets, keep that in mind… As a trader, one absolutely needs to not give a shit what the markets do- there are only 2 jobs- don’t lose money, and make money. Align yourself with where the puck is going…..
The Fed is not a secret: it’s a public institution with experienced economists (for all that I deride the soft sciences) that do in fact control huge levers.
If you want to make money you do care about what the Fed decide. Real money would love to know the Fed’s decisions hours or a day in advance.
The fact it’s a committee of people with (sort of) diverse opinions (published formally, aired informally) is very American solution to the problem of information and power asymmetry.