How the Fed Told the Market What It Wanted to Hear

One of the most human things about humans is that they tend to hear what they want.  It's easy to take advantage of this trait. Politicians do it as a matter of course.  Many, and perhaps most, Congressional districts are gerrymandered to favor one party or the other, so that members of Congress can be elected, and then endlessly re-elected, simply for saying what their constituents want to hear.  Our gridlocked government doesn't actually do anything.  We pay members of Congress nice salaries simply to say what we want to hear--and in the final analysis the shame is on us.

Government officials aren't above telling us what we want to hear, either.  The Fed's latest policy statement is a good example.  The word "patient" was removed, indicating that there wouldn't necessarily be much warning of an interest rate hike.  This is hawkish. 

But the statement also tried to make nice-nice with all the skittish investors out there who bet on continued money printing by saying that a rate increase in April is unlikely, and that the timing of future rate increases would be dependent on economic data.  The Fed also continued from the previous statement to say that it anticipated moderate economic growth, lower than average inflation in the near term and a continuation of its practice of re-investing principal payments from its holdings of federal agency and Treasury securities into other agency and Treasury securities (thereby maintaining the size of its balance sheet).  These dovish statements softened expectations for rate hikes in the near future.

The market rallied yesterday (Wednesday, March 18, 2015), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising almost 230 points (more than 1%).  Today, the Dow dropped 117 points, or 0.65% (although the Nasdaq rose 0.2%).  What gives?  The market initially read the Fed statement to be dovish and drank deeply of the punch bowl.  But Fed Chair Janet Yellen also has made clear that there are no assurances as to June and a rate increase in June is possible.  The market evident sobered up today and took some money off the table.  The Fed statement didn't change from yesterday to today.  What changed was how the market read the statement.

The Fed is now in the position it wants to be in--it can move rates without giving a lot of notice.  It has much more flexibility to react to changes in economic data.  Investors who are caught leaning the wrong way can't expect a bailout.  We're back to the past, to the Fed of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, which tended to be opaque and liked it that way.  It had room to move.  For example, in 1994, the Fed decided to raise rates, when large swaths of the market didn't expect a rate increase.  Many hedge funds and other investors were seriously discombobulated, but there was no money printing done to make the boo boo go away.  All the losers could do was to reflect on how there's a certain amount of rancid cheese in life and you just have to deal with it.

Now, let the investor beware. 

Dreaming of Higher Interest Rates

Today's employment report, which shows a gain of 295,000 jobs and a lower unemployment level of 5.5%, knocked the wind out of the stock market's sails.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 279 points or about 1.5%.  Bonds retreated as well, while the dollar rose.  The new employment data heightens the chances of the Federal Reserve Board raising interest rates as early as June, something that's detrimental to today's rosy asset valuations. 

In the past year, there have been innumerable rumblings from hawks and doves on the Fed about when to raise interest rates and how quickly.  As the economy has improved, the Fed's public signals have morphed from waiting a significant time and being patient, toward saying that their decision on rate increases will be data dependent.  That means rates could increase any time, if the Fed decides that the data warrants an increase.  Fed Chair Janet Yellen is a dove on rate increases, but she also wants to have a free hand without necessarily having to be patient.

There's so much debate and angst over rate increases that the sensible thing for the Fed would be to raise rates a quarter point this summer or fall.  That would give the markets a chance to adjust to a world without zero interest rates, something they haven't experienced in seven years.  After an initial tantrum, the market would probably figure out that 25 basis points is just 25 basis points, not the beginning of a massive depression and the end of civilization as we know it.  Some of the heat in the debate over rate increases would dissipate, and the dialogue could become calmer.  The hawks would have had their way, at least for a first step.  And the doves would realize they don't have much to worry about.

That's because economics would dictate that rates should remain low as long as inflation remains low.  Inflation, even without considering the falling price of petroleum, remains below 2%.  There is no economic justification for rates to rise much.  On or two quarter point rate increases would establish that the Fed is not locked into perpetual pedal-to-the-metal stimulus.  And low inflation rates would give the doves a basis for tightening ever so gently--and patiently.

So, if you're dreaming of higher interest rates, dream on.  When you wake up, you'll find that our low inflation reality means it was just a dream.