Fed's Fisher: "Our Job Is Not To Provide Ritalin To Traders"
Richard Fisher, President of the Dallas Federal Reserve, appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box Sep. 18 to discuss the economy, banks and QE3.
"I would have voted against it. I don't think QE3 is going to have much efficacy. Our job is not to provide Ritalin to the traders. Our job is to do what's in the long-term interests of the American people."
For those wanting a peek behind the curtain, Fisher discusses the dynamic of FOMC meetings as well as how the "wealth effect" assists housing and stock markets but does not directly improve employment levels. Fisher is not a voting member of the FOMC this year, but repeated to Kernen he would have voted against QE3.
Related links:
Fisher repeats call to break up big banks
Fed's Fisher: QE3 won't provide U.S. economic boost
Fed's Bullard says he would not have voted for QE3
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More from the same interview:
Fisher: A Lot of Money Sitting on Sidelines
More from CNBC: Fisher on What Makes Texas So Great
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TRANSCRIPT
FISHER ON ECONOMY
FISHER: LET'S BE FAIR TO THE CHAIRMAN, HE NEEDS TO PULL THE GROUP TOGETHER, AND THE GROUP AS A WHOLE FEELS THE ECONOMY IS BARELY STEAMING ALONG, IT IS IN POSITIVE TERRITORY, AND YET IT'S AT RISK, NOT DRAMATIC RISK.
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FISHER ON DECISION
FISHER: A DECISION WAS MADE, I MAY DISAGREE WITH THE DECISION, I UNDERSTAND ITS LOGIC, AND WE'LL SEE IF IT WORKS....
KERNEN: WILL YOU TELL US IF YOU WOULD HAVE VOTED WOULD YOU HAVE GONE ALONG WITH IT OR WOULD YOU HAVE THROWN YOUR LOT IN WITH THE CHAIRMAN BECAUSE HE’S THE CHAIRMAN? WOULD YOU HAVE VOTED AGAINST THAT?
FISHER: NO, I TOLD YOU THIS A LONG TIME AGO, WHEN I FIRST CAME ON BOARD, ALAN GREENSPAN SAID, RICHARD JUST ALWAYS SPEAK TO THE TRUTH, THAT’S ALL EXPECT OF YOU. I PRESENT MY VIEWS I SPEAK TO THE TRUTH, QUOTE UNQUOTE, AS I SEE IT,
KERNEN: SO YOU WOULD HAVE VOTED NO...
FISHER: SO I WOULD HAVE VOTED AGAINST IT.
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FISHER ON GROWTH
FISHER: THE POINT IS THERE'S SOME POSITIVE GROWTH, IT'S JUST NOT ROBUST, AND HERE'S THE KEY POINT, IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO CREATE THE KIND OF JOBS WE NEED IN THIS COUNTRY.
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FISHER ON UNCERTAINTY
FISHER: THE REASON THAT WE HAVE SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY IS NOT JUST UNCERTAINTY ABOUT EUROPE AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT SLOWDOWN IN CHINA, THESE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS, THE REAL UNCERTAINTY STEMS FROM WHAT ARE MY TAXES GOING TO BE? WHAT KIND OF SPENDING PATTERNS ARE GOING TO COME OUT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? HOW DO I DEAL WITH THIS EXPLOSION OR REGULATORY MORASS THAT WE HAVE COMING OUT OF WASHINGTON? HOW DO YOU MAKE A DECISION, HOW DO YOU BUDGET WHETHER YOU ARE EXXON OR YOU ARE A LITTLE BITTY 20-PERSON COMPANY?
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FISHER ON BUSINESSES
FISHER: BUSINESSES RIGHT NOW ARE STYMIED BY UNCERTAINTY, WE DON'T WANT TO ADD TO IT, AND IN THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM, THE PROGRAM WAS DIRECTED AT THE MORTGAGE MARKET, WE'VE HAD ABOUT A 25 BASIS POINT REACTION, A LITTLE BIT OF A REACTION BEFOREHAND, PRETTY MUCH WHAT I EXPECTED.
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FISHER ON CONGRESS
FISHER: LET'S GIVE THE CHAIRMAN SOME CREDIT HERE- HE'S DOING WHAT HE WANTS TO DO, HAS TO DO, SHOULD BE DOING FOR THE ECONOMY
KERNEN: RIGHT
FISHER: THE EFFICACY OF THIS PROGRAM IS WHERE WE DISAGREE- THERE ARE COSTS AND BENEFITS, I ARGUE MORE ON THE COST SIDE, OTHERS ARGUE ON THE BENEFITS SIDE, A DECISION WAS TAKEN, BUT INSTEAD OF HAMMERING THE FEDERAL RESERVE, POINT YOUR FINGERS AT THE CONGRESS.
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FISHER ON WHAT FEDS JOB IS
FISHER: AND I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THIS. OUR JOB IS NOT TO PROVIDE RITALIN TO THE TRADERS.
KERNEN: THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE THINK THE ONE THING YOU CAN CONTROL IS ASSET VALUES IN THE STOCK MARKET.
FISHER: OUR JOB IS TO DO WHAT'S IN THE LONG-TERM INTERESTS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THE STOCK MARKET PROVIDES WHAT ECONOMISTS REFER TO AS A WEALTH EFFECT BUT WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS IMMEDIATELY OR THE NEXT DAY AND SO ON.
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FISHER ON HOUSING
FISHER: WE HAVE SEEN A REACTION IN MORTGAGE BACKS AND MORTGAGE PRICES COMING DOWN ABOUT A QUARTER OF A PERCENT SINCE THE MEETING, THAT SHOULD ASSIST THE HOUSING MARKET AND IF WE ASSIST THE HOUSING MARKET THE LOGIC RUNS THAT WILL HELP WITH GREATER CONFIDENCE AMONGST CONSUMERS AND PERHAPS RELEASE GREATER SPENDING AS WELL.
Sep 26, 2012 at 1:23 PM
Reader Comments (5)
Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, a policy hawk who opposed the U.S. central bank's decision last week to launch a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, also warned that the "slightest deviation" from the Fed's 2 percent inflation target could be "debilitating" for financial markets.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49095375
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49070290
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49079089
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49096053
Well, then, please share with the class, Dick. What exactly is the Fed's job?
A. To enable insolvent banks to pay bonuses by buying their shittiest assets at inflated prices.
B. To enable insolvent banks to pay bonuses by paying them not to lend.
C. To drive up the prices of food and energy by diluting the dollar.
D. To force money out of savings accounts and into the stock market with ZIRP.
E. All of the above.