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Where Do Fed Officials Stand?
http://www.tigersharktrading.com/articles/19494/1/Where-Do-Fed-Officials-Stand/Page1.html
By Kathy Lien
Published on 10/20/2010
 

How close is the Federal Reserve to easing monetary policy in November?


Where Do Fed Officials Stand?

How close is the Federal Reserve to easing monetary policy in November? Pretty close if we look at the views of different FOMC members. However the skepticism of some officials could compromise the overall size of the asset purchase program.

Read on to find out where FOMC voters stand:

Voting Members of the FOMC

Believe More QE is Necessary

1. Ben Bernanke – Said earlier this month that “additional purchases will ease financial conditions and help the economy.”
2. William Dudley – Said on Oct 1 that “more action from the Fed is warranted unless the outlook changes.”
3. Eric Rosengren – Said on Sept 29 that the Fed needs to respond “vigorously” and “creatively” to the serious economic problem” posed by high unemployment, sluggish growth and undesirably low inflation.

Oppose More QE

1. Thomas Hoenig – Has been voting for tighter monetary policy since the beginning of the year.
2. Kevin Warsh – Traditionally leans towards more hawkish policies – said on Sept 28 that the “markets are normalizing if not normal” already and the “economy is improving if not improved.”

Undecided

1. Sandra Pianalto (Possibly Dovish) – Leans towards more stimulus, very worried about sluggish growth and high unemployment and said Oct 1 that she is assessing the effectiveness of the Fed’s tools to stimulate the economy.
2. Daniel Tarullo (Traditionally Dovish) – Hasn’t talked about monetary policy recently but is traditionally a dove and supported a high degree of policy accommodation back in April.
3. James Bullard (Possibly Dovish) – On Friday, he said “more easing is not obvious” but he leans towards more stimulus after having previously said that “more help from policy may be needed to push up inflation.”
4. Janet Yellen (Unclear) – Is traditionally a dove but in her first speech as Vice Chair yesterday, she expressed concern that accommodative policy may prompt risk taking while further easing could fuel leverage build up.
5. Sara Raskin (Unclear- Slightly Dovish) – Hasn’t made comments since joining the Board of Governors, but at her confirmation hearing, she said that the Fed only has a partial victory with stable prices when “many American households continue to face the perils of unemployment.”
6. Elizabeth Duke (Skeptical About More Stimulus) - Leans towards opposing additional stimulus – is skeptical about the effectiveness of large scale asset purchases and the Fed’s decision August decision to reinvest proceeds from mortgage backed securities.

Kathy Lien is Director of Currency Research at GFT, and runs KathyLien.com.