Market Commentary
Today’s decision puts the U.S. Federal Reserve clearly in the “extend and pretend” camp. They are going to extend the delay for action and pretend that they are seriously thinking about doing something every time a decision is needed. Fed credibility is likely to come under some question. Policy makers talked tough the past month or two despite economic data being modest and the creep up in LIBOR already creating tighter conditions. Having started the year with an expectation of four hikes, we are coming down to the wire to get a single action in 2016. Timing is likely left to December, past the upcoming Presidential election and the next time there is a press conference to accompany the verdict. Estimates for the future trajectory of rates into 2017 were also revised lower. That said, it is not all “dovish” as there were three dissenters to the vote all in favor of higher rates. The immediate market reaction prior to the press conference across fixed income, equities, and currencies is that the decision is a non-event, an interesting outcome after all of the media drama. I guess the market likes the start-and-stop panic approach of short-term hunches. From our standpoint, all the press and speculative prognostication off of a single event strengthens the case for why a sound investment approach requires a longer term view.