Tuesday Testification – Powell Speaks to Congress

To ease or not to ease…

That is the question investors will be looking for Fed Chairman Powell to address when he testifies before the Senate Banking Committee this morning at 10:00 am.  Friday's strong jobs report has led to a sell-off as investors now believe the Fed is less likely to cut rates at their end-of-month meeting and of course they shouldn't be cutting with record-low unemployment, rising inflation and a record-high stock market – that would be MADNESS!!!  

Of course madness is Trump's sweet spot and he's been hammering on the Fed lately to lower rates because Trump needs to stretch this rally out another year or there's no way he'll get re-elected and he's going to need the Fed's cooperation because this rally has already overstayed it's welcome and is quite overdue for a correction.  The Fed, for it's part, wants to RAISE rates so they are then able to LOWER them WHEN it is necessary.  If they lower rates when it's not necessary, what are they going to do when it is?  

That's the difference between thinking like a child and thinking like an adult, of course and, as our friends in the UK like to point out – Trump is essentially a giant baby with low attention span who likes to repeat catchy phrases with little understanding of the underlying issues and has an absolute melt-down if he doesn't immediately get what he wants.

Powell, like any Fed Chairman, is supposed to be the adult in the room and tries to intervene only when necessary – generally staying out of politics.  The need for an independent Federal Reserve has been recognized by every President in US History – until this one…  Even now, Trump is packing the Fed with his own people and is pressuring Powell to step down so he can put another sycophant in charge of our monetary policy – very scary stuff.  

Fortunately, the Fed doesn't answer to the President and they don't answer to Congress either but, twice a year, they are required to appear before Congress and explain themselves – though Alan Greenspan was great at making a mockery of that proceeding.   Bernie Sanders…

You must login to see all of Phil's posts. To read the rest of this article now, along with Phil's live intra-day comments, live trading ideas, Phil's market calls, additional member comments, and other members-only features - Subscribe to Phil's Stock World by clicking here.
To signup for a free trial membership, click here.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this information? We can send your friend a strictly confidential, one-time email telling them about this information. Your privacy and your friend's privacy is your business... no spam! Click here and tell a friend!