Markets across the world are soaring, thanks to growth firming up and inflation dissipating. But much depends on how China does in the Year of the Dragon
Moneycontrol Pro Weekender | What could go wrong?
Concerns about inflation are rising once again. We wondered whether inflation could spoil the party in the equity markets
Dear Reader,
At its December 2019 meeting, a year ago, the US Fed projected 1.8 percent GDP growth in 2022, the unemployment rate at 3.7 percent, inflation at 2 percent and a Federal Funds rate of 2.1 percent. In December this year, it’s projecting GDP growth of 3.2 percent for 2022, unemployment at 4.2 percent, inflation at 1.9 percent, but guess what the Fed Funds rate for 2022 is estimated to be? It’s 0.1 percent. What’s more, it’s slated to remain at 0.1 percent in 2023, too. In other words, the Fed will remain very low for very long. And, as Fed chair Powell said, valuations in the equity markets are fine, given the low level of interest rates. Martin Wolf agrees in this FT piece, citing Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller’s CAPE (Cyclically adjusted PE) ratio, he says there’s no stock bubbl