Federal Reserve officials are split into two camps, according to Wall Street Journal's Jon Hilsenrath, those who believed that risks to the economy were materializing and those who wanted to wait and see. Either way, The Fed is confused and their 4-hikes in 2016 meme is disappearing fast.
As The Wall Street Journal reports,
Since the January FOMC statement, Janet has spoken twice and what seems like every Fed speaker has hit the headlines to explain their decisions (only to confuse the market more) leaving bonds and gold outperforming amid their clear confusion. The Minutes appear to confirm that confusion:
One of the most critical lines to watch is the 12-month moving average for stocks.
Historically this line has served well as a proxy for determining if stocks were in a bull or bear market. When stocks rallied above this line, they were in a bull market. When they fell below this line, they were in a bear market.
As you can see, this line was a great metric for targeting when to enter or exit the markets.
Submitted by California State Assemblyman Mike Gatto
Electing the next head of the Federal Reserve
The large and eclectic field of presidential contenders is in full-out campaign-promise mode, as voters demand positions on everything from ISIS to ethanol. With the economy so fragile, now might be a good time to seek commitments on who our next president will appoint to the Federal Reserve, and statements on what the proper role of the Fed should be.
Coming as a replacement to perhaps the biggest dove in Fed history, few were expecting former Goldman and Pimco staffer Neel Kashkari to be as vocally outspoken on a topic that is so near and dear to regulators everywhere: their own cluelessness, and more importantly, the topic of "too big to fail" banks, which according to the Fed are a pillar of stability in an unstable world, and which according to Kashkari are anything but.