This week the Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero and committed to continue its bond-buying program until “substantial progress” has been made regarding employment and inflation. Initial jobless claims increased for the second straight week, hitting 885,000 in the week ended December 12—the most since early September.
I was floored to see just how much the Fed is buying—and will continue to buy—each month. The central bank is gobbling up as much $120 billion of debt, split between $80 billion of Treasuries and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
The size of the Fed’s balance sheet now stands at a staggering $7.36 trillion, or 34% of gross domestic product (GDP).
No comments:
Post a Comment