• HubertManne
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    132 days ago

    could have been better if we had not gone into covid with zero interest rates.

    • @Veedem
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      72 days ago

      We didn’t go into it with a zero percent rate. The rate was implemented as it began and everything shut down. An understandable move at the time with the information they had available to them.

      Ultimately, rates were going to need an upward correction with or without COVID.

      • HubertManne
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        52 days ago

        Yeah this is one of those things which drives me a little nuts as I swear I have seen the data differently. Still I see rates coming down in april of 2019 and had been static since the start of that year. I remember trump bemoaning how the fed was ruining his economy by having rates so high (over 2%) and it seemed to effect the fed as the stock market was on a tear still and they dropped them to 1.5% by nov 2019 and the government certainly was not responding to covid at that point. They should have really gone the other way and been at 3%. Then with dropping to zero and the stimulus at covid it caused the market to rebound rediculously at the time. I think the stimulus should have been done with rates being reduce at a slower pace. 1% then .5 then .25 and maybe not even hit zero if all went well. If this had been done I don’t think we would have seen the massive inflation coming out of trumps first term. https://www.macrotrends.net/2015/fed-funds-rate-historical-chart

        • @Veedem
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          42 days ago

          I didn’t realize rates were THAT low right before 2020 so thanks for reminding me. I remember him, at some point, wanting to have negative rates.

          • @batcountry
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            2 days ago

            The US Manufacturing sector was in a full blown recession in the last two quarters of 2019, with the rest of the economy expected to follow suit in 2020. Hence the Fed’s attempts to stimulate the economy through rate reductions. That was well before covid was even on the radar.

            King Baby got a pass on his tariff induced recession due to the emergence of a global pandemic.