Witness the power of the Bloomberg red headline:
FED SAW NO NEED TO EASE ANEW UNLESS GROWTH SLOWS, MINUTES SHOW
That headline alone is responsible for 90% of the move we’ve seen in markets but it may be overdone. I was scrambling for 10 minutes through the text trying to find the actual quote before I realized the minutes don’t actually say anything like that, it’s an inference.
The tangible difference is that the March minutes say:
“A couple of members indicated that the initiation of additional stimulus could become necessary if the economy lost momentum or if inflation seemed likely to remain below”
Whereas in January a “few” said current conditions “could warrant the initiation of additional securities purchases before long.”
You might not want to fight the tape here but if you can find some good levels, you might consider it. It’s not like anyone said this kind of reaction could happen.
