How the Federal Reserve became must see Kardashian-style reality TV

Financial Times/Gary Silverman/4-9-2022

“As US central bankers confront the most serious inflationary surge since Volcker’s time, they have become relentlessly chatty, appearing on stage and screen to discuss the latest economic data and the implications for the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee. The result is the Wall Street equivalent of Keeping Up with the Kardashians — must-see reality TV.”

USAGOLD note: The problem with the high degree of “transparency” at the Fed is that neither Wall Street nor Main Street can fully put together what it translates to. One research analyst says that the Fed members who frequent the media speak not to Main Street but to portfolio managers. The portfolio managers often respond in knee-jerk fashion pushing financial markets willy-nilly simply because they have more capital at their disposal than they should. The markets move accordingly but not always in concert with reality. The comparison to the Kardashians is justified. We should learn to take these Fed-member public forays with a grain of salt and concentrate on what the Fed does, not what it says.