Fedwatching, by George Zachar
Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker, who dissented from the last three decisions to forgo an interest-rate increase, said the central bank has failed to communicate sufficiently its willingness to reduce inflation, the Financial Times reported.
A big deal? No. A “big deal” in Fedland is an official action, Bernanke diktat, or data point. Lacker is speaking truth to power, but he’s not powerful enough to actually do anything besides stake out his ideological turf. Such posturing by regional bank heads has ample precedent, and, at the end of the day, does next to nothing policy-wise.