Friday, August 25, 2017

Janet Yellen: The Suicide Bomber at Jackson Hole


This morning, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said nothing to rock markets during her speech at the annual monetary conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She kept her comments, on items that would concern markets, neutral to the degree she mentioned them at all.

But that doesn't mean, she was not wearing a suicide bomb vest. She was, and
she basically blew up any chances of being reappointed by President Trump to head the Fed once her current term as chair expires on January 31, 2018.

Gregg Robb explains:
Yellen used her high-profile podium to give a robust defense of the regulations put in place under the Obama administration in the aftermath of the financial crisis. She disagreed with the position of President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans that the regulatory burden is strangling lending and has hamstrung the economy.

“Yellen’s decision to defend core regulations will strengthen the hands of those within the administration who do not favor her reappointment and likely reduces her chances of gaining a second term as chair,” said Krishna Guha, a former senior Fed staffer and now vice-chairman of Evercore ISI...

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, agreed: “Yellen’s passionate defense of the post-crisis tightening of financial regulation isn’t going to go down particularly well at the White House.”
There is nothing to be cheered about government regulations so, good riddance Janet. But any "deregulation" is going to be stick handled by Goldman Sachs cronies, Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, both of whom are Goldman Sachs alumni and no doubt still wear secret Goldman Sachs underwear, will be managing the  "deregulation."

This will not be good. No doubt, "deregulation" will be beneficial for Goldman Sachs and not so beneficial to Goldman Sachs competitors.

   -RW 

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