Fed Rates & Minutes

Minutes from the Fed’s May policy meeting showed board members thought that if jobs growth remains healthy with a rebound in investment and consumer spending then rates could rise “soon”, which many took to mean June. The economy has shown some signs of weakness, the Fed still thinks its broad strength would justify winding down its balance sheet, essentially sucking cash out of the system and putting upward pressure on borrowing costs. As long as rates rise, it shows the economy is still holding.

The Fed is more concerned about the stock market. A correction would help ease the upward pressure, but the Fed also realizes that it has to get rates back up because of the looming crisis in State *& Local pension funds.

Keep in mind that as rates rise, so will the problems with fiscal budgets both on the Federal and States levels within the United States and externally it will hurt emerging markets and Europe.