Fed's Harker says he is not concerned that the central bank is behind on inflation but action is required
- says the Fed should think about balance sheet normalization after interest rates are sufficiently above zero
- says the first quarter is going to be tough
- says the Fed needs to be more proactive on inflation
- says he penciled in three rate hikes for 2022 but four increases are not out of the question
- Harker says if Fed needs to adjust monetary policy it can use its primary tool the fed funds rate
- says US economy has reached maximum employment mandate in his mind
- says Fed cannot affect supply issues through monetary policy
- says US economy is solving supply chain problems
- says there are lots of reasons causing labor supply issues
Headlines via Reuters
That first comment translated is we have dropped the ball but maybe some time in the future we'll pick it back up again. The rest of it is repeating, yet again, what we have already heard from other Fed officials since they dropped the laughable 'transitory' mirage from their language. The Fed next meet on January 25-26 and those officials who have put a date on action have not nominated this meeting but rather the March meeting.
more to come
