Two weeks ago the Fed met and, unsurprisingly, gave no indication that a rate rise was is the offing; inflation is too weak. Instead, the Fed strongly suggested they will commence reducing their holdings of long-dated debt following their meeting in mid-September. If, however, there’s a congressional standoff over raising the debt ceiling (imagine that), the Fed will delay the start of its asset sales to prevent roiling financial markets.
Elliot F. Eisenberg,
Ph.D. GraphsandLaughs, LLC
Australia’s strong economic performance of recent decades has allowed its central bank to avoid the kinds of unorthodox policies seen in other countries, but record low rates mean less conventional measures may be needed to tackle new challenges.