Mar 28, 2008

Carl Weinberg on monetary stimulus: "Give the Fed an A for effort"

You have to look at of the impact on the financial markets and then on the economy. This crisis is something we've never seen before. What the Fed is doing is a good idea; it's a good try. It aims to affect the part of the economy that is hurting the most, namely asset-backed securities. So I give the Fed an A for effort. The big negative is that it transfers the credit risk of these securities from the private sector to the Fed's balance sheet, and some people believe that is a bad thing. My own view is that the Federal Reserve is doing its job as the lender of last resort in the financial system, which is stuck and can't lend to itself.

~ Carl Weinberg, chief economist, High Frequency Economics, "Coming: Cheaper Oil and a Stronger Buck: Interview with Carl Weinberg," Barron's, March 24, 2008

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