Friday, November 13, 2015

Central bank talk - just too much?



 “I distrust a closemouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time to talk and says the wrong things. Talking’s something you can’t do judiciously unless you keep in practice.” 

- The Maltese Falcon

This week we had ECB president Draghi say it is "clearly visible" that there are downside economic risks in Europe. NY Fed president Dudley said this week, "It is quite possible that the conditions the Committee have established to begin to normalize monetary policy could soon be satisfied." We have the ECB talking about further easing and the Fed talking about normalizing. We have not even included all of the comments by Fed bank president. Do these guys do any real work or just make speeches at one conference after another? Do they really need to keep in practice talking or would the markets be better with closed-mouthed central bankers?

I understand that the FOMC has stated that they have a "flexible agenda" and must account for "a wide range of information ... and readings on financial and international developments" but does it make sense that there is more simple clarity in order to enhance creditability? This game of hinting at moves is getting old and adding to market uncertainty. 


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