Comments from Williams to reporters

  • 'This year would be good' for a hike
  • Has 'no problem whatsoever' with running a somewhat hot recovery
  • The risk he sees is a risk of hard landing if unemployment falls to 4%
  • US economy is well-positioned for Fed to hike
  • There is no fundamental reason Fed can't get a consensus on a rate hike when the time comes
  • No problem with overshooting inflation target, not good enough to get close

Hawkish stuff from Williams, especially the chatter about a few hikes in 2017. Of course, we finished last year with the same kind of talk about 2016 so the market doesn't get too excited about rate hike talk.