Kaplan on Bloomberg
- You're always going to get criticism from both sides
- In my mind we need more tools
- Cites demographics, globalization as trends that make policy more difficult
- Path of Fed rate hikes going forward will be flatter
- Path of rates more important than timing of next hike
- The case for hiking has been strengthened but that's in the context of a lower, long term path of rates
- We all have to improve our communication
- We need to be cognizant that our comments will be digested in snippets
- Repeats that he expects oil prices to firm in 2017-19
- We believe we'll be in balance in oil supply/demand in Q1 or Q2
There isn't much to chew on here. He's been cast as a bit of a hawk but that's only in the short-term. Longer-term, he isn't someone who is worried about prices running away.
It's interesting that him and Mester both said the same thing on criticism of the Fed. They say it's a communication issue. That's such a cop-out and it's a sign that the Fed is out of touch with a lot of the criticisms. For one, their terrible forecasts haven't been 'miscommunicated', they've been wrong.
