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Economy, Markets Test Fed Chief’s Patience

Economy, Markets Test Fed Chief’s Patience
Economy, Markets Test Fed Chief’s Patience

Janet Yellen could be losing patience. And that could mean a lot for global markets. When the chair of the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that stocks were overvalued and bond yields too low, it was a signal that investors should not expect to indulge on the Fed’s cheap dollars forever.

But after a knee-jerk reaction to the warning, two days later Wall Street was back near record highs and bond yields even lower than before Yellen spoke, AFP reported.

The reason? Friday’s April jobs report that suggested the economy still has some ways to go to meet the Fed’s criteria for beginning to raise interest rates. And that means more easy money for investors.

When Yellen became Fed chair 15 months ago the path ahead seemed clear: end the huge quantitative easing stimulus program of her predecessor, Ben Bernanke, in October 2014, and then after around six months begin raising interest rates.

That was the path toward “normalization,” easing out of the crisis-era monetary policy that had the Fed pumping trillions of dollars into the economy even with its benchmark interest rate stuck at zero for six years.

It was nearing the time to normalize. As 2014 progressed, the United States generated more than 3 million new jobs and the unemployment rate sank toward the Fed’s target.

Inflation, which the Fed wants to bring to 2.0 percent, did not pick up, but there were reasons for that, like the oil price crash.

Meanwhile, the easy money policy was fueling stock and property speculators while its impact on overall growth was starting to diminish.

The Fed repeatedly implied that a rate rise could come around mid-year 2015. In March, it sent a major signal for the coming hike, by dropping from its policy statement a pledge to remain “patient” for the economic data to improve.

 Market Dangers

Yellen made clear this week that she is concerned that markets have too easily shrugged off a rate hike and the turmoil it could bring to markets.

Stock valuations “generally are quite high,” she said at a finance forum Wednesday. “There are potential dangers there.”

Bond markets were risky too. “We need to be attentive to the possibility that when Fed decides it’s time to begin raising rates, these term premiums could move up and we could see a sharp jump in long term rates,” she said.

Stocks took the calculated message at face value, sinking sharply, while bond yields spiked higher -- for all of two days.

Then came the April jobs report which suggested the winter slowdown was not completely past. The job creation number was pretty strong, and unemployment fell to 5.4 percent.

But there was no sign of rising wages -- an indicator Yellen herself has focused on to show labor market tightening.

This indicates that millions of people have dropped out of the workforce, discouraged by the paucity of jobs and the low wages on offer. And if wages don’t rise, consumer spending and economic momentum stay weak.

 

Financialtribune.com