Fed’s Kaplan Makes Case For Further Rate Hikes

It’s all a conspiracy I tell ya, according to Donald Trump. The Fed is out to get him and destroy an otherwise fantastic economy. He’s bringing jobs back like fucking crazy, building walls, showing China who’s boss, and having a nice and easy time making America great.

Meanwhile, the high IQ men at the Fed continue to normalize rates — because the economy is at full employment and growing very fast.

Fed’s Kaplan echoes the opinions of other hawks at the Fed, implying more hikes are coming.

“As we reach our dual-mandate objectives, I believe that the Federal Reserve should be gradually easing off the accelerator — we no longer need to be stimulating the U.S. economy,” he said in an essay. “As such, I believe we should be gradually and patiently moving toward a neutral policy stance.”

The comments come a day after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the Fed doesn’t need “to keep our foot on the gas pedal.”

Kaplan backs further rate hikes even though he said he expects economic growth to slow in the years ahead as fiscal stimulus fades. He added that his estimate of the longer-run “neutral” late is somewhat lower than his colleagues’ median estimate, but he said he’s on board for at least the next several rate hikes. Kaplan favors allowing the benchmark funds rate target to rise to as high as 2.75 percent to 3 percent before pausing for evaluation. The current range is 2 percent to 2.75 percent.

“I intend to avoid prejudging what, if any, further actions we should take once we get into the range of our best estimate of a neutral stance. I intend to make that judgment sometime in the spring or summer of 2019 based on the economic outlook at that time,” Kaplan said.

Whether I believe the Fed should hike or not isn’t important. But they are and it has nothing to do with Trump being President. This is what the Fed does — slow shit down when it gets hot and speed shit up when it gets slow. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t feel the need to keep them. It’s very possible they’re creating a crisis by squeezing liquidity, which hurts China more than us. After said crisis is created, the high IQ men at the Fed will be called upon, once again, to save western finance. Then we’ll be proud of them again and write books about them, and hold them up to the sky as saints — for doing the right thing during a time of crisis.

I bought SOXS, DRIP — betting on lower prices in semis and oils.