Federal Reserve: “Make me responsible…. but not yet”

With apologies to St. Augustine the gist from the release this week of the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) was that, yes, inflation is worse than we expected, and yes, we need to raise interest rates and, yes, we need to sell some of our huge portfolio of Treasuries and Mortgage-Backed Securities, and we will …soon…I promise.

“Participants observed that, in light of the current high level of the Federal Reserve’s securities holdings, a significant reduction in the size of the balance sheet would likely be appropriate,” the meeting summary stated.

The minutes show concern about inflation and financial stability though members urged “a measured approach” to tightening monetary policy. FOMC members noted that “inflation was beginning to spread beyond pandemic-affected sectors and into the broader economy.”

No kidding.

The stock market rallied after the release of the minutes. “Oh, the party’s not being shut down? Great, what’s everybody want to drink?”

Rather than repeat my arguments I will just link to two recent posts:

Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
Can the Federal Reserve prevent a Recession?

And read these recent articles:
How Marblehead’s 2022 Property Tax Rate is calculated
Essex County 2022 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Essex County 2022 Commercial Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Guide to Buying and Selling in Southwest Florida

If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].

Andrew Oliver, M.B.E.,M.B.A.
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®

m 617.834.8205

www.OliverReportsMA.com

“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
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Andrew Oliver
REALTOR® | Market Analyst | DomainRealty.com
Naples, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers

[email protected]

www.OliverReportsFL.com
www.MarbleheadSouth.com