Federal Reservations

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the Fed’s interest rate announcement, the divided cultural experiences of America’s upper and lower class, and whether or not “the American way of life” still exists.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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U.S. Stocks Cheer Fed’s Rate Pledge
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Originally from Big Government

Jeffrey Lacker lays out rationale for why he doesn’t agree with pledging to keep interest rates low for at least two more years. He also foresees the U.S. economy continuing to improve.

Originally from MarketWatch

Jeffrey Lacker lays out rationale for why he doesn’t agree with pledging to keep interest rates low for at least two more years. He also foresees the U.S. economy continuing to improve.

Originally from MarketWatch

Gold futures slip back from a seven-week high, as buyers take a breather after strong recent gains inspired by the Federal Reserve’s projection of ultra-low interest rates through 2014 and lower U.S. GDP also takes a toll.

Originally from MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Inflation is likely to remain below the Federal Reserve's objective for several years, said New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley on Friday. In a speech two days after the Fed said its long-term inflation goal was 2%, the most explicit the Fed has been in setting an inflation target, Dudley said inflation "may be headed down further." Europe, fiscal policy and housing are inhibiting growth, while slack in the labor market is "unacceptably" high. Risks to the outlook remain skewed to the downside, mainly due to uncertainty about Europe, said Dudley in a speech in New York City. He said the Fed will continue to do its part to support the economy, "but it's not all powerful."

Originally from MarketWatch

Jeffrey Lacker lays out rationale for why he doesn’t agree with pledging to keep interest rates low for at least two more years. He also foresees the U.S. economy continuing to improve.

Originally from MarketWatch

Charles Goyette writes: Government lies are legion. So many are its lies, that narrowing them down to three of the most important is a demanding task. But our current crisis has been chiefly enabled by monetary policy, fiscal policy, and the global military empire. So I have chosen to focus on lies about each: the Federal Reserve, the orchestrator of monetary policy; the U.S. budget, the accounting of government fiscal policy; and a few of the Empire’s war lies. I am sharing just a smattering of this astonishing record of duplicity in these areas, for life is short, or at least far too short to recount all of the state’s lies about each.

Originally from The Market Oracle

HONG KONG (MarketWatch)-- Hong Kong developers should benefit from changing expectations on the interest rate outlook, as an extended period of ultra-cheap money now appears more likely after the U.S. Federal Reserve forecast low rates through late 2014, Citigroup said Friday. The shift means Hong Kong mortgage rates likely won't rise to the 4%-5% range in 2012 as expected, Citi said. Hong Kong pegs its currency to the U.S. dollar, which means it tracks U.S. monetary policy closely, although there can be small variations in the lending rates charged by the city's banks. Since 2000, the Hong Kong mortgage rate has held in a tight range about 3 percentage points above the federal funds rate, Citi said. The investment bank said the news would help bring potential buyers off the sidelines and "drive pent-up demand back into the market."

Originally from MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker on Friday said he dissented from the Federal Reserve's announcement earlier this week that it intends to keep interest rates near zero until late 2014 because he expects economic activity to prompt an earlier rate rise. "I dissented because I do not believe economic conditions are likely to warrant an exceptionally low federal funds rate for so long," Lacker said in a statement posted on the Richmond Fed website. "I expect that as economic expansion continues, even if only at a moderate pace, the federal funds rate will need to rise in order to prevent the emergence of inflationary pressures. This increase in interest rates is likely to be necessary before late 2014," he said. Lacker was the only member of the Federal Open Market Committee to vote against the Fed policy action, citing a desire to omit the reference to the time period.

Originally from MarketWatch

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks fell from a 5-1/2 month high on Friday as gains spurred by the Federal Reserve's pledge of low interest rates gave way to concerns about Portugal, seen as the next domino in the euro zone crisis, and uncertainty over Greek debt talks.

Originally from Reuters: Business News