La Federal Reserve launched the mini tapering. Starting in January, central bank purchases of mortgages and T-bonds will drop from $85 billion to $75 billion. Ben Bernanke, "the accommodating policy remains the most appropriate". And the most shared by Janet Yellen who will take over from Bernanke from February 1st. “I have always consulted closely with her, even before she was nominated,” the president underlined.
The markets appreciated the decision: the Dow Jones rises by one percentage point, the S&P index does even better. The dollar rises albeit slightly, as do the yields on 6,3-year T bonds. In short, the climate is quite different from the first attempt at tapering in the summer, which was abruptly withdrawn after the landslide in emerging markets and the surge in interest rates. This time, unlike then, the markets were prepared for the move. And they shared it: data on US employment project a drop in the jobless to 2014% by the end of 15, with a higher decline than already forecast. In this context, it seems logical to start a prudent retreat from the strategy to the sound of growing stimuli that has distinguished the last XNUMX months of Bernanke's management, punctuated by three consecutive Quantitative Esings.
The confirmation comes from the comparttezza recorded in the Fonc: 9 out of 10 central bankers voted to start tapering. Only Eric Rosengren voted against, deeming the move "premature".
In contrast, other members of the board believe that initiating tapering is the best way to celebrate the Federal Reserve's birthday. On Monday 23 December, in fact, the most powerful central bank on the planet turns XNUMX years old.
