Most Reckless Fed Ever: “Real” Federal Funds Rate Now the Most Negative Ever by Wolf Richter • Jan 12, 2022 • 159 Comments Even most junk bonds have negative “real” yields. And the Fed is still fueling this madness.
Wage Price Spiral Takes Off, Companies Point at it: Albertsons Shares -8%, JP Morgan’s Dimon Sees “Huge Pressure” on Labor Market by Wolf Richter • Jan 11, 2022 • 175 Comments The Fed finally sees it too.
Markets Suddenly Hear Hawkish Fed: Stocks Sag, ARKK Plunges, Yields Jump, Cryptos (the New Hedge Against Inflation) Fail to Hedge, Plunge in Sync by Wolf Richter • Jan 5, 2022 • 203 Comments Quantitative Tightening coming sooner, faster, and bigger, according to the Fed’s minutes today.
Fed Drains $1.9 Trillion in Liquidity from Market via Overnight Reverse Repos by Wolf Richter • Dec 31, 2021 • 162 Comments Banks unloaded cash today for quarter-end window dressing. Money markets funds are biggest counterparties, Fidelity, Vanguard, Blackrock on top.
My “Wealth Effect Monitor” & “Wealth Disparity Monitor” for the Fed’s Money-Printer Economy: December Update by Wolf Richter • Dec 27, 2021 • 281 Comments Billionaires got more billions, bottom half of Americans got peanuts and inflation.
Even Fed’s Lowest Lowball Inflation Measure Spikes Relentlessly: Parallel Isn’t 1982, but 1974, When Powell was in College by Wolf Richter • Dec 23, 2021 • 172 Comments But even the comparison to 1974 fails because back then, the Fed had already pushed short-term rates to 9%. Today: most reckless Fed ever.
End of Easy Money: Global Tightening in Full Swing, While the Fed Promises to Wake Up in Time Next Year by Wolf Richter • Dec 22, 2021 • 213 Comments Central banks jacked up rates to catch up with run-away inflation, but most fell further behind; only Russia caught up. The Fed didn’t even try.
Enough of this “Bond-Markets-Don’t-Buy-Hawkish-Fed’s-View” Nonsense: It’s the Fed’s Reckless Interest-Rate Repression by Wolf Richter • Dec 20, 2021 • 240 Comments Bond Markets will buy Hawkish Fed’s views just fine if the Fed stops buying bonds, period, and sells outright its TIPS, MBS, and long-dated Treasuries.
Powell: Everything’s Moving Much Faster, incl. End of QE, Balance Sheet Reduction, Rate Hikes by Wolf Richter • Dec 15, 2021 • 297 Comments Inflation now a “big threat.” After downplaying inflation all year, the Fed is starting to get serious.
Central Banks in Latin America’s Largest Economies Grapple with Raging Inflation: Brazil with Shock & Awe, Mexico Eyeing the Fed by Wolf Richter • Dec 9, 2021 • 182 Comments In the US, raging inflation is not far behind. But the Fed is still recklessly pouring fuel on it.