NISA Chief Economist Stephen Douglass was quoted in MarketWatch ahead of Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole economic policy meeting held today.
Stephen said the majority of Fed officials would rather “hold and hope” that the Iran war ends soon instead of raising interest rates. Stephen was quoted as saying:
“I think [Fed Chair Kevin] Warsh is the founding member of the hold-and-hope caucus, which is to say he doesn’t want to hike rates this year.”
Stephen believes the Fed officials who support rate hikes are doing most of the talking, while those in favor of holding interest rates steady are in the majority and are remaining quiet. This is making the Fed seem more evenly divided than it truly is.
“I don’t think that it’s really that close of a vote right now,” Stephen was quoted saying.
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