We’ve all been part of one of those really disingenuous hugs.
Whether on the giving or the receiving side, you just know that there’s nothing really good coming out of it and somehow everyone ends up feeling dirty and cheapened.
Every now and then someone on the receiving end of one of those disingenuous hugs believes it’s the real thing and they are led down the wrong path or become oblivious to what is really going on.
This week the market gave a warm embrace and hug to the notion that the FOMC might actually be announcing an interest rate hike as early as its June 2016 meeting.
The chances of that even being a possibility was slight, at the very best, just 2 or 3 weeks ago. Since then, however, there has been more and more hawkish talk coming even from the doves.
The message being sent out right now is that the FOMC is like a hammer that sees everything as a nail. In that sense, every bit of economic news justifies tapping on the brakes.
Traditionally, those brakes were there to slow down an economy that was heating up and would then lead to inflation.
Inflation was once evil, but now we recognize that there are shades of grey and maybe even Charles Manson had some good qualities.
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