Sunday, April 9, 2023

Fed liquidity breaks the link between financial assets and economic risk


What is the Fed trying to do with providing liquidity to financial markets during a crisis? Think of the fed actions as an attempt to break the link between financial assets and economic risks. Smooth the returns of financial assets through reducing downside and there will be less economic risk for the real economy. The Greenspan and Bernanke put were attempts to delink financial assets and economic activity. The response to the pandemic was an attempt to break the link between financial assets and the real economy. Don't let assets fall and there will be no spillover to the real economy. 

Of course, in the process of keeping financial assets high, inflation of financial assets, there has been an increase in real assets, traditional inflation. Now, any attempt to stop real inflation will carry-over to financial assets. Both will go down when rates are increasing. The link between financial assets and economic risks is again tied together. A fall in inflation will also lead to a fall in financial assets and there will be a real effect on economic growth.  The link cannot be escaped.

The liquidity to the banking system, albeit expected to be temporary, is again an attempt to slow any sell-off of assets to reduce real economic risk. However, the financial disintermediation that will continue from higher rates cannot be stopped.


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