Minneapolis Fed Pres. Neel Kashkari
The Minneapolis Fed Pres. Neel Kashkari is on the wires saying:
- real unemployment rate is around 10% when consider those who have given up looking for jobs
- we have a long way to go before we can get economy fully reopened
- committed to do whatever he can to boost recovery
- it is also up to fiscal policy makers to do their part
- there is still slack in the economy
- the key now is for the Fed to keep its foot on the monetary policy gas
- important for Congress to keep supporting people, small businesses
- can borrow very cheaply to do what we need to do to get through this pandemic
- right now he is not concerned about too much spending, it's like wartime
- we will all be better off if we can get back to 3.5% unemployment more quickly
- over the long term we do need to get our fiscal house in order
- Fed policy is not destabilizing financial markets
- he's not worried about the stock market goes up, it goes down
- if one group of speculators wants to do battle with another group in the stock market, it's on them
- cost of raising rates to tamp down stocks are very high
- we will continue to be aggressive with balance sheet and interest rates until achieve Fed goals
- we are not even close to being at the right time to even think about adjusting balance sheet size
- little evidence that extra unemployment benefits are keeping people from returning to work; labor market is under stress
- broad-based checks have a role in pandemic relief; trying to target aid to precisely means missing a lot of people
Kashkari is speaking at a virtual event. He is more of a dove. He is not a voting member on the 2021 Federal Reserve Board.
The stock market remains very supportive with the NASDAQ index now up over 300 points or 2.33%. It is also move back above its 50 hour moving average now at 13364.32. The high price just reached 13375.95