The monthly Open Market Committee meeting of the Federal Reserve Board coincided with yesterday’s second-quarter GDP estimates, which means monetary hawks were raising the volume of their harsh cries for deflation. But it seems Janet Yellen is determined to maintain equipose, continuing the “tapering” of bond purchases as scheduled but not signalling any intention of raising interest rates until and unless inflation accelerates significantly.
Tomorrow, of course, the July Jobs Report comes out, and if the official unemployment rate drops, it will intensify demands for refocusing the Fed on inflation-fighting rather than economy- stimulating. Good news is always an argument for creating bad news when it comes to the “responsible” advocates of monetary “stability.”
