Pam Martens has some quotes from the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). As you can see from this batch of quotes it looks as though the economy is doing poorly.
“Real private expenditures for business equipment and intellectual property appeared to decelerate in the fourth quarter. Nominal orders and shipments of nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, declined in November and December.”
“Real federal government purchases appeared likely to have decreased sharply in the fourth quarter, reversing much of the surprisingly strong increase in the third quarter.”
“Over the 3 months ending in December, the total CPI [Consumer Price Index] decreased at an annual rate of 2-1/2 percent, reflecting recent declines in consumer energy prices…”
“Inflation in the advanced foreign economies declined sharply at the end of last year, amid rapidly falling energy prices…”
“The price of mortgage credit for qualified borrowers declined again over the intermeeting period, with interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages reaching levels close to their all-time lows.”
Yet, here is their conclusion:
“In their discussion of monetary policy for the period ahead, members judged that information received since the FOMC met in December indicated that economic activity had been expanding at a solid pace…”
What are they drinking?
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