Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Yellen comments give “the final go-ahead that the markets were expecting” for a March rate hike, Stephen Stanley, chief economist of Amherst Pierpont Securities, says in note.

• Economic environment is much healthier now than it was in Spring 2016, particularly with higher inflation
• Expects a “triple shot of hike-worthy data points” next week, including strong U.S. payroll data, decline in unemployment rate, and acceleration in YoY average hourly earnings advance
• “The mantra from the Committee, as expressed in the minutes and in Yellen’s Congressional testimony, as well as from most officials individually, is that as long as the economy evolves as expected, the Fed will be hiking gradually, i.e. consistent with the 3-4 rate moves per year embedded in the latest dot plot. This is why the Fed is preparing to follow up its December move with another rate hike so soon”