“Doing and making are acts of hope, and as that hope grows we stop feeling overwhelmed by the troubles of the world. We remember that we — as individuals and groups — can do something about those troubles.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she has discussed with President Joe Biden how he should proceed on naming a Federal Reserve chairman and praised the current holder of the position.
Though she did not disclose any specific plans Biden has, Yellen said she gave solid marks to Chairman Jerome Powell.
“I talked to him about candidates and advised him to pick somebody who is experienced and credible,” Yellen told CNBC’s Ylan Mui. “I think that Chair Powell has certainly done a good job.”
Appointed to the top post by former President Donald Trump, Powell’s term expires in February. Biden is expected to name someone soon, and Powell is widely expected on Wall Street to be renominated.
However, the Powell Fed has come under criticism in recent weeks following disclosures that regional presidents — and Powell himself — had been buying and selling securities tied to the stock and bond markets at a time when Fed policy was underpinning Wall Street.
Two regional presidents resigned shortly after the disclosures. Powell faced some criticism over the matter in a recent congressional appearance, and leading progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she would vote against Powell if he is nominated for a second term. The Fed has since established an edict barring policymakers and senior officials from owning anything other than mutual funds in most cases.
Despite the controversy, Yellen said Powell has led the Fed well during an extraordinary time. Yellen was Powell’s immediate predecessor as the Fed chair.
“He responded very admirably to the crisis that we saw after the pandemic, and he’s established with his colleagues a new framework that is very focused on achieving full employment,” she said.
The Fed meets this week and is widely expected to announce that it soon will start slowly withdrawing the unprecedented economic help it has been providing since the early days of the pandemic.
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When we use a GPS in unfamiliar territory, we don’t get lost easily. Instead, we arrive at our destination much quicker. Our life is no different. When we are clear about what we want, we get there faster. However, often, we underestimate the power of clarity. We are living in a world of noise, competition, […]
Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called Friday for the Federal Reserve to begin reining in the support it has provided for the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
In separate tweets, the head of Pershing Square Holdings, with $13.1 billion under management, said the central bank should start turning off the monetary juice right away.
He teed up his position by saying he met last week with officials at the Fed’s New York branch, which houses the trading desk that carries out the wishes of officials regarding interest rates and the monthly asset purchase program.
“The bottom line: we think the Fed should taper immediately and begin raising rates as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are continuing to dance while the music is playing,” Ackman added, “and it is time to turn down the music and settle down.”
The statements come just a few days before the Federal Open Market Committee is set to begin its two-day policy meeting Tuesday.
For Ackman, insisting on the taper isn’t anything radical: Investors widely expect the FOMC on Wednesday to announce that it soon will start pulling back on its monthly asset purchase program in which the Fed is buying at least $120 billion of bonds. Markets are looking for monthly pullbacks of $10 billion in Treasurys and $5 billion in mortgage-backed securities, possibly starting in November and concluding in the summer of 2022.
Calling for interest rate hikes is another matter.
Fed officials have stressed that the initiation of tapering shouldn’t be construed as a path to rate hikes. The central bank has been holding its benchmark overnight borrowing rate near zero since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and most FOMC officials have indicated that the first increase won’t come sooner than late 2022.
However, traders lately have been pricing in more aggressive moves, with futures contracts pointing to at least two quarter percentage point 2022 rate hikes, beginning in June, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool. There’s also just shy of a 50-50 chance of another increase coming in December. The recent anticipation of hikes comes with inflation running around a 30-year peak.
Ackman said he’s beginning to position his portfolio for higher rates.
“As we have previously disclosed, we have put our money where our mouth is in hedging our exposure to an upward move in rates, as we believe that a rise in rates could negatively impact our long-only equity portfolio,” he tweeted.
Pershing Square is up 15.7% gross in 2021 and 12.2% net of fees this year, lagging the S&P 500’s 22.5% return, according to company statements. That comes after a stellar 2020 during which the fund returned 70.2% on net. The firm has attracted about $1.3 billion of additional assets this year.
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.