The Week That Will Be (9th January 2022)

1. The Fed and Inflation
The US inflation print on Wednesday is only relevant in the context of what we hear from Powell and Brainard in their confirmation testimonies on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. And they will be hawkish. Inflation is a problem for the Democrats in this mid-term election year, hence it's a problem for the Biden-nominated leadership of the Fed.

This is not to impugn Powell and Brainard for a lack of independence; rather that their shift towards inflation as the greater risk to growth chimes usefully . . .

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