The Daily Update: Fed Open Minded / Dare We Dream?

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said in a webcast yesterday that he was ‘open minded’ on phasing out buying mortgage bonds faster or sooner than its Treasury purchases, however, would prefer a simple tapering strategy overall. ‘Even as the housing market is pretty hot right now, trying to differentiate the kind of liquidity the Fed is providing markets feels complicated. There's some downside to getting too clever’ he said, adding that his preference is for ‘the least-dramatic way of moving back to normal’.

He also spoke about his views on employment and inflation. ‘For me, substantial further progress has an inflation piece and an employment piece. On the inflation side, I think you can argue reasonably compellingly we have made substantial further progress. On the employment piece, I'd still make the case that it doesn't feel yet like substantial further progress.” He added regarding the labour market ‘I am one of those people who believes there are temporary factors that are holding us back. I do not believe we are done at this point. I really do think, expect, and hope that when we get to August and September, we're going to see really good numbers. To me, it will be an indicator that the job market is unclogged’.

Lastly, we could not go without mentioning the game last night. Do we dare to dream? Well, it’s certainly one big step closer to coming home. This was not a great Germany side compared to others of the past; however, you can only beat those in front of you. C'mon England!!