Market participants got little more information on how the Fed plans to boost U.S. inflation with the minutes from the central bank's latest policy meeting on Wednesday, and in particular, lacked guidance on its quantitative easing program.
Why it matters: Some have blamed the Fed's lack of specifics on the future path of QE for the market's pullback since early September.
- Analysts are still worried markets lack a positive catalyst in the interim period ahead of the U.S. election, as the boost from the $2 trillion CARES Act and the Fed's $3 trillion QE infinity program may have worn off, and there are few assets moving in the opposite direction of equities to provide safe havens.
Don't sleep: The minutes also note the importance of increased fiscal spending to the Fed's improved economic projections, which looks less likely after President Trump's series of tweets Tuesday night.
- “Many participants noted that their economic outlook assumed additional fiscal support and that if future fiscal support was significantly smaller or arrived significantly later than they expected, the pace of the recovery could be slower than anticipated,” the meeting summary said.
