Related to your “Can’t the Fed just fix it?” question: a financial advisor with whom I spoke yesterday suggested that the Fed would likely lower rates before the end of the year despite inflationary pressures if the economy were performing poorly. He noted that rates are already high and there was plenty of room to respond to poor economic figures. This person also believed that the concerns about stagflation were overstated because a shrinking economy would result in downward pressure on prices. My crystal ball is cracked, so what do I know; and this fellow was pretty shrewd about anticipating a downturn in the markets in 2025 even before the election—although I’m not sure whether to take an historically unprecedented “own-goal” as a mark of predictive skill. Bottom line—is he right? Will the Fed lower interest rates despite inflationary pressures?
SO. Who is advising Trump's team about China (where losing face is a big deal) and what was the general sense about China's UST holdings among the Biden team?
Related to your “Can’t the Fed just fix it?” question: a financial advisor with whom I spoke yesterday suggested that the Fed would likely lower rates before the end of the year despite inflationary pressures if the economy were performing poorly. He noted that rates are already high and there was plenty of room to respond to poor economic figures. This person also believed that the concerns about stagflation were overstated because a shrinking economy would result in downward pressure on prices. My crystal ball is cracked, so what do I know; and this fellow was pretty shrewd about anticipating a downturn in the markets in 2025 even before the election—although I’m not sure whether to take an historically unprecedented “own-goal” as a mark of predictive skill. Bottom line—is he right? Will the Fed lower interest rates despite inflationary pressures?
So many questions come to mind.
Remember Trump telling Zelenskyy he "didn't have the cards."
Apparently the metaphor is still running around the White House.
Hopefully China won't play their US Treasury cards.
That Bessent is blithe about this is scary.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/treasury-secretary-bessent-says-chinas-escalation-was-big-mistake-country-playing-with-losing-hand.html
SO. Who is advising Trump's team about China (where losing face is a big deal) and what was the general sense about China's UST holdings among the Biden team?