by DantesPeak » Wed 23 Apr 2008, 19:23:10
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Forney2008', 'W')hat if the Fed pauses or even raises interest rates? What would happen? Some over at the tickerforum see that the federal reserve is having trouble keeping the fed funds target rate low, and in fact it is rising some, suggesting a change in monetary policy. I think oil would fall a bit if the Fed raised rates, but soon after fundamental supply and demand imbalances will push oil back up to new highs. What do people like Dantespeak or Pup have to say about this possible scenerio?
Let’s first take a look at the US dollar – which actually is the Federal Reserve dollar, since the Treasury doesn’t issue dollars anymore.
As of April 16, in the last Federal Reserve weekly balance sheet report, when adding up various Fed programs instituted in recent months, the Federal Reserve dollar is now only 40% backed by US Treasuries and 60% by a combination of mortgage backed securities, loans to the financial institutions, and an unknown amount of derivative securities - which may or may not have any value at all.
It was reported today that some Bear Stearns derivatives, guaranteed by AMBAC, were only worth 18% of their face value. So it’s reasonable to conclude that the $29 billion of BS assets the Fed guarantees are worth considerably less than face value.
Under these conditions, it's somewhat surprising that the dollar maintains any kind of stability. With an unstable dollar, the price of oil can fluctuate wildly.
The recent hyperinflationary rate of increases so far in 2008 in the price of energy and food, although mostly due to scarcity, may soon push the US down the road to general hyperinflation. That’s because that the Fed may monetize, that is increase the money supply, to match the additional energy costs. Unpleasant things happen at the end of that road.
The only way we may avoid accelerated inflation is if the economic collapse accelerates downward rather soon. My best guess is that the economy probably will accelerate downward only later in the third quarter, so I don’t look for any great relief in energy prices. However due to volatility of prices, it would not be very surprising if prices fluctuated up to 20% up or down from some average level over a few months or so.