Federal Reserve: “Make me responsible…. but not yet”

With apologies to St. Augustine the gist from the release this week of the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) was that, yes, inflation is worse than we expected, and yes, we need to raise interest rates and, yes, we need to sell some of our huge portfolio of Treasuries and Mortgage-Backed Securities, and we will …soon…I promise.

“Participants observed that, in light of the current high level of the Federal Reserve’s securities holdings, a significant reduction in the size of the balance sheet would likely be appropriate,” the meeting summary stated.

The minutes show concern about inflation and financial stability though members urged “a measured approach” to tightening monetary policy. FOMC members noted that “inflation was beginning to spread beyond pandemic-affected sectors and into the broader economy.”

No kidding.

The stock market rallied after the release of the minutes. “Oh, the party’s not being shut down? Great, what’s everybody want to drink?”

Rather than repeat my arguments I will just link to two recent posts:

Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
Can the Federal Reserve prevent a Recession?

If you are ready to sell and want to know the best way to get full value please contact me.

Read these recent reports:
Guide to Buying and Selling in Southwest Florida
Naples Year End Market Report by Location and Property Type
Fort Myers Beach 2021 Market Report
Bonita Springs 2021 Market Report
Sanibel/ Captiva 2021 Market Report