MNI FedSpeak Podcast

The Fed has already raised interest rates too far but could even hike them further given misplaced concerns about inflation persistence, ex-Boston Fed research director Jeff Fuhrer tells MNI. We also discuss his new book, "The Myth That Made Us."]

The Federal Reserve's desire to pause rate hikes is driven by a belief that recent disinflation would proceed unabated, and could "turn on a dime" if progress appears to stall as it did in the August CPI report, former Fed board economist Steven Kamin tells MNI.

Tyler Meredith says housing squeeze "has become a real metaphor issue of middle-class success” and Justin Trudeau's Liberal government needs a large-scale solution to regain political support lost to the Conservatives. Public anger also radiates towards the Bank of Canada but the central bank isn't being singled out, he says.

Elliot Hughes at Summa Strategies discusses Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to convince voters upset over the surge in housing costs, saying his recent comments suggest a potential expansion of more direct federal involvement in homebuilding.

Robert Asselin, adviser to the Business Council of Canada and previously to the prime minister and finance minister, says the central bank likely needs high-for-long interest rates that will further crimp badly needed investment. He also says a recent cabinet shuffle put communication ahead of strong policy as Justin Trudeau girds for the next election.

The Federal Reserve is likely to keep tightening monetary policy despite an economy that is already effectively in a downturn, which is being masked by rising consumer borrowing and strong fiscal policy, former Dallas Fed advisor Danielle DiMartino Booth told MNI.

Money market funds are buying Treasuries again, leaving enough liquidity in the banking system for QT to continue for at least two more years, ​former New York Fed trader Joseph Wang tells FedSpeak.

Joseph Tracy, former senior adviser to Fed presidents Robert Kaplan and Bill Dudley, says it will most likely take a mild recession to rein in inflation.

Royal LePage Real Estate Services COO Karen Yolevski says many younger Canadian buyers feel the pressure to buy amid a lack of supply before prices become completely out of reach, even as they also feel the pinch of higher interest rates.

Robert Kaplan, former Dallas Fed President, worries the ripples from robust fiscal policy are making the Fed's job harder, and could yet force it to hike rates up to 6%.