If you thought the FOMC was hawkish, wait until you see the Minutes! Released earlier, the Minutes from the FOMC’s December meeting showed that members suggested that it could be appropriate to begin to reduce the size of the Federal Reserves’ balance sheet relatively soon after beginning to raise the Federal Funds rate! Recall that at the meeting, FOMC members decided to double the pace of bond buying reductions from $15 billion per month to $30 billion per month. This effectively would end the Fed’s Quantitative Easing Program in March. In addition, members rate hike forecasts showed an average of 3 rate hikes in ... (full story)