QE – Then, Now, & Why It May Not Work Again
by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,
ZeroHedge.com
Thu, 03/07/2019
Since the beginning of the year, the market has rallied sharply. That rally has been fueled by commentary from both the Trump Administration and the Federal Reserve of the removal of obstacles which plagued stocks in 2018. The chart below is an abbreviated, and a bit sarcastic, version of events.
While the resolution of the trade war is certainly beneficial to the economy, as it removes an additional tax on consumers, the biggest support for the market has been the assumption the Fed will return to a much more accommodative stance.
As we summed up previously for our RIA PRO subscribers (try it FREE for 30-days)
The Fed will be “patient” with future rate hikes, meaning they are now likely on hold as opposed to their forecasts which still call for two to three more rate hikes in 2019 and more in 2020.
The pace of QT, or balance sheet reduction, will not be on “autopilot” but instead driven by the current economic situation and tone of the financial markets. It is expected the Fed will announce in March that QT will end and the balance sheet will stabilize at a much higher level.
QE is a tool that WILL BE employed when rate reductions are not enough to stimulate growth and calm jittery financial markets.
In mid-2018, the Federal Reserve was adamant a strong economy, and rising inflationary pressures, required tighter monetary conditions. At that time they were discussing additional rate hikes and a continued reduction of their $4 Trillion balance sheet.
All it took was a rough December, pressure from Wall Street’s member banks, and a disgruntled White House to completely flip their thinking.
The Fed isn’t alone.
China has launched its version of “Quantitative Easing” to help prop up its slowing economy.
Lastly, the ECB downgraded Eurozone growth, and as announced today, not only will they not raise rates in 2019, they also extended the TLTRO program, which is the Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations scheme whichgives cheap loans to struggling Eurozone banks, into 2021.
The Rest…HERE
