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11 Feb 2016
Yellen waiting and seeing - ANZ
Analysts at ANZ noted that Janet Yellen had a delicate task last night.
Key Quotes:
"To sound concerned enough to reassure investors that the Fed was feeling their pain, while still sounding upbeat enough to bolster the notion that this volatility will all blow over – as there is no question that crowd sentiment-led expectations can rapidly become self-fulfilling in this kind of environment."
"In the end, she was probably content with the market response, which was limited. Yellen made it clear that while the Fed still expects to continue on its gradual tightening path, policy was not on a pre-set course and would respond appropriately to developments."
"A question about negative interest rates was neatly side-stepped. Yellen no doubt chose her words carefully around what, at this point, couldn’t really be anything other than a “we’ll wait and see” message."
"The Fed has no idea how this is going to pan out either, so all Yellen could really do is ensure she wasn’t the catalyst for a lurch. The real test may come later, if markets continue to deteriorate and look to central banks to save them. Are policymakers’ guns loaded with blanks?"
Key Quotes:
"To sound concerned enough to reassure investors that the Fed was feeling their pain, while still sounding upbeat enough to bolster the notion that this volatility will all blow over – as there is no question that crowd sentiment-led expectations can rapidly become self-fulfilling in this kind of environment."
"In the end, she was probably content with the market response, which was limited. Yellen made it clear that while the Fed still expects to continue on its gradual tightening path, policy was not on a pre-set course and would respond appropriately to developments."
"A question about negative interest rates was neatly side-stepped. Yellen no doubt chose her words carefully around what, at this point, couldn’t really be anything other than a “we’ll wait and see” message."
"The Fed has no idea how this is going to pan out either, so all Yellen could really do is ensure she wasn’t the catalyst for a lurch. The real test may come later, if markets continue to deteriorate and look to central banks to save them. Are policymakers’ guns loaded with blanks?"