Three Common Traits of the FOMC’s “New Neutral” Leaders [Sayako Yasuda]

Sayaka Yasuda Profile

Yasuda Sawako. North America Researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute. After experiences as a currency writer covering central bank policy and macroeconomics around the world, she relocated to New York in 2005. While conducting reporting on the financial and economic frontlines on Wall Street, she also provides information unique to the local scene—from the perspective of a street watcher—on New York real estate trends, commercial activity, urban development, and culture. Since 2011, she has launched the comprehensive information site "My Big Apple NY" and reports on the current state of America from New York.

Comprehensive Information Site:My Big Apple NY

※This article is a reprint/edit of a FX攻略.com article from December 2018. Please note that the market information in the main text may differ from current market conditions.

The Consolidating Vacancy Posts in Personnel

From the start of the year, the world has been paying attention to trade frictions sparked by additional tariff measures led by the Trump administration. In the meantime, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) continued to raise rates, increasing the number of rate hikes planned for the year from the initial three to four. President Trump, who has long said, "I am a low-rate advocate," is now directing criticism at the idea that rate hikes are undesirable, revealing his impatience.

Whether Trump’s attack on the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) is genuine or not, in terms of filling vacancies, he has given the Fed a lifeline. Richard Clarida, who has served as Global Strategic Advisor at PIMCO after succeeding the late Stanley Fischer as FRB Vice Chairman in October 2017, took office on September 17, 2018.

Although four FRB governors were vacant at the start of the year, in November 2017 Carnegie Mellon University’s Marvin Goodfriend was named, and in April 2018 Kansas Bank Commissioner Michelle Bowman was named alongside Clarida. Furthermore, in September of the same year, Neel Kashkari, who has held a career as an economist at the FRB and is currently a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is reported to be the target for a FRB governor nomination. Regardless of what Trump says, this demonstrates the emphasis on the Fed’s role.