Whether it likes it or not, the Federal Reserve has been pulled into the political thickets. The demand is for it to “do something”. Whatever it does at its meeting this week will have political ramifications, and you do not need to belong to the Ron Paul faction to question whether further QE of any kind is necessary at this stage.
As James Mackintosh pointed out in the Short View, inflation expectations and asset prices are both rising now, rather than falling as they were before QE1 and QE2. This Fed has a philosophical aversion to deflation, but there appears to be no imminent danger of that. Read more
James Mackintosh is the Financial Times' Investment Editor, writing and presenting the daily Short View column and video. In 16 years at the FT his posts have included comment editor, motor industry editor and hedge funds correspondent, as well as spells in the Parliamentary lobby and Paris. He was the first reporter hired for FT.com, joining two weeks before it launched.
John Authers is the Financial Times' Senior Investment Columnist, writing the Saturday Long View and a regular Monday column. In a 22-year career at the FT, his previous posts have included global head of the Lex column, investment editor, US markets editor, Mexico City bureau chief and US banking correspondent. His latest book is The Fearful Rise of Markets. 