Paying attention to Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen

Posted By on March 19, 2014

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It’s a big day for Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen as she took the stage and continued a third wave of tapering of the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program. Not that any of this was unexpected, but it an indication that the Fed sees the economy improving and is slowly removing the nation’s fiscal training wheels (its embarrassing, really). Hopefully we’ll see continued improvement in both economic growth and in the unemployment numbers … which has historically been Yellen’s number one priority. Today, she detailed “her deep concern about unemployment far more than she expressed an eagerness to raise interest rates.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was largely flat ahead of the statement, tumbled by as much as 200 points in the hours that followed, then ended down about 114 points.

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On a follow up note, I do tend to be partisan when it comes to liberal appointments to powerful positions, but I’d like to give Yellen the benefit of the doubt, even if philosophically there are differences. She is supremely qualified and probably one of the more capable Fed chairs “on paper” and was a reasonable choice considering President Obama’s leanings. Before my right colleagues attack me for my softness, I’ve just finished a excellent and enlightening eBook assembled by the WSJ called Yellen and The Fed.

If you are interested, check with Jon Hilsenrath to see if he’ll send a link for a free download.

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  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
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