Russell 2000, and Bitcoin are at new highs, while bond yields have plunged. The Fed has created a thorny problem for pension funds and others.
Neel Kashkari: I don’t know that we have created a thorny problem. Our job is to try to achieve our dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment. We still have 10 million Americans out of work, relative to January, and inflation continues to be below our 2% target. [Inflation in November was 1.2%.] If we saw a modest uptick in inflation, I think we would call that success. We’re watching the data very carefully and taking appropriate action. What’s the alternative? We should raise interest rates to try to keep the stock market from climbing higher and, in doing so, keep more Americans out of work? That seems like a lousy trade.