Fed walks 2020 tightrope on rates
By Sylvan Lane
The Federal Reserve is facing another minefield of potential threats to a steady U.S. economy as the brief boost of optimism that ended 2019 quickly fades. The Fed is expected to announce Wednesday that it will hold steady on interest rates for the second consecutive month after cutting borrowing costs three times last year. …“The Fed is in a uniquely uncomfortable position because the odds are very good that the economy will weaken as the year progresses and the markets will start to drop,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics. …“There’s a real link between every time the Fed increases its portfolio, equity markets go up and rich Americans get richer,” Petrou said, urging the Fed to consider “how really unequal the lack of credit is making a lot of Americans.”
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/480357-fed-walks-2020-tightrope-on-rates
