Fed Won’t Reduce Bond-Buying, Will Continue Inflating Bubbles: Rickards
Markets have been on a roller coaster ever since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke dared to tell the world there was a potential timeline to start dialing back bond purchases beginning later this year. In the wake of the volatility, this week some Fed officials are trying to ease investor concerns, speaking out against the perception that the central bank has moved towards a tighter monetary policy.
Related: “Markets Don’t Need a Dictator,” Will Rally Like Crazy After QE: Altucher
Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher even compared market participants to “feral hogs.” Ouch.
Well Jim Rickards, senior managing director at New York financial firm Tangent Capital and author of the bestseller "Currency Wars" has some choice words for the Fed in return.
As China’s central bank captures headlines for quelling concern over a cash crunch there, Rickards tells The Daily Ticker, “it’s ironic, the greatest central planner in the world is not the communist party of China – it’s Ben Bernanke and the [Fed’s] board of governors.”
Rickards argues in the process of trying to create a “wealth effect” – where people feel richer due to rising asset prices and so spend money helping the economy – the Fed is inflating asset bubbles in housing and stocks.
Related: Did Bernanke Just Kill the Housing Recovery?
“The market was very bubblicious the first four months of the year, so there’s part of the Fed that wants to let a little air out of the tires,” says Rickards.
However, Rickards says, the Fed thinks they can afford to withdraw policy based on their forecasts of stronger growth coming. And the problem is the Fed has “the worst forecasting record in economics.”
Check out the accompanying interview to see Rickards' forecasts for what will really happen later this year when people are expecting the Fed to start dialing down bond buying, and the opportunity it presents for investors.
Tell Us What You Think!
Got a topic you’d like covered? Have a guest you’d like to see interviewed? Send an email to:thedailyticker@yahoo.com.
You can also look us up on Twitter and Facebook.
More From The Daily Ticker:
China Credit Bubble About to Implode: Fitch Analyst
Are Average Investors Better Off Since Crisis? Top Regulator Says: Not Really