Tag: rates

Why the Fed Needs to Raise Rates

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

yellen Janet

I have warned that rates will rise BECAUSE the Federal Reserve will be criticized if they fail to do so when they are faced with a stock market that is rising. However, while one by one, several Fed officials have all signaled in recent days that the Fed is ready to resume raising interest rates as soon as this month, the real crisis for the Fed will be raising rates will strength the dollar and put even more pressure on Europe and emerging markets. Hence, the 64 billion dollar question is will the Fed abandon international policy objectives for domestic?

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Central Bankers Are Upsetting God’s Applecart

Guest Post by

 

Fools or Knaves?

[ed. note: this article was written shortly before the ECB decision was announced, so the deposit facility rate mentioned in it is still the old one; it has been reduced to – 30 bps in the meantime]

BALTIMORE – Thursday is the big day. Mario “whatever it takes” Draghi is expected to goose up stock markets with more stimulus measures. On the table is more QE… and further cuts to the key lending rate.

 

creationThe good Lord adds jerks to the mix to keep things interesting … we’re happy to report the operation was a success. It may actually have been a tad too successful.

Cartoon by Gary Larson

 

The Chinese feds are also supposed to come forward with another gift to asset holders. According to the Wall Street Journal, the expectation is for something targeting property purchases and another interest rate cut (which would make it cut No. 7 since last November).

 

china-interest-rateChina’s central bank administered one-year benchmark lending rate – click to enlarge.

 

And yesterday, Fed chair Janet Yellen told the Economic Club of Washington:

 

“Were the FOMC [the Fed’s policy setting committee] to delay the start of policy normalization for too long, we would likely end up having to tighten policy relatively abruptly to keep the economy from significantly overshooting both of our goals. Such an abrupt tightening would risk disrupting financial markets and perhaps even inadvertently push the economy into recession.”

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