Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Fed doesn't think that the natural rate of unemployment is 6.5%

Previously there was some talk about the Fed keeping the fed funds rate low as long as unemployment was higher than 6.5% and inflation was close to the 2% unofficial target. Since last month the unemployment rate crossed that barrier, and is now at 6.1%, there might have been doubts about what would Janet Yellen do or simply What Would Janet Do (WWJD).

The good news is that, quite correctly, Yellen seems to believe that the recovery is still weak, the labor market is slacking and there is no sign of impending inflation acceleration. So the natural rate (which does not exist) is NOT 6.5% for the Fed.

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