Posted on 11/03/2009 2:31:23 AM PST by markomalley
The Federal Reserve pumped $1 trillion into the financial system during a year of harried efforts to rescue the economy. Brian Sack's job is to figure out how to get the money back out.
Mr. Sack, 39 years old, is an economist who runs the markets group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The group runs the Fed's trading, making it the bridge between the marble corridors of the Federal Reserve in Washington and the bustling trading floors of Wall Street.
In normal times, it buys and sells Treasury securities to influence the level of interest rates. During the crisis, it hatched a raft of complex new programs that inserted the central bank more deeply than ever into private markets -- purchasing mortgage-backed securities, extending commercial-paper loans to blue-chip companies and reviving asset-backed securities markets.
"The operational challenge of getting this job done is amazingly difficult," says Laurence Meyer, vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, an economic consulting firm where Mr. Sack formerly worked.
The decision on when to soak up the money and to raise interest rates comes from the Federal Open Market Committee, which meets this Tuesday and Wednesday. It isn't expected to make a move at this meeting, but Mr. Sack's job is to implement its decision when it does.
(snip)
Under one program called "reverse repos," the Fed will put a large and growing portfolio of Treasury bonds, mortgage-backed securities and debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the market as collateral for loans, taking in cash in return.
In essence, it will switch the Fed from being a massive lender to being a massive borrower, draining the system of cash in the process.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
OTOH, if Congress keeps spending as it is, the Fed will have an extraordinarily hard time doing so.
Yeah, great time to go for that contraction, when unemployment is still rising and the financial sector is in the crapper.
This is why monetary policy being controlled by a central bank NEVER, EVER WORKS.
END THE FED.
“Under one program called “reverse repos,” the Fed will put a large and growing portfolio of Treasury bonds, mortgage-backed securities and debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the market as collateral for loans, taking in cash in return.”
Ok I’m no expert here, but what happens when these securities are placed into the market and they do not generate a return nearly as high as what was originally paid for them? How will that be balanced? To me that would leave excess money still floating around in the market.
I don't think the Fed is doing it for profit, but to soak up excess cash and shore up the value of the dollar.
One of our biggest complaints was that they had been pumping dollars into the system (by buying securities)...now they are going to start pulling those dollars back.
It is doubtful to me that the Fed will have major problems with this, unless they try to sell too many bonds at one time.
But I was wondering if for example they paid out 300 billion for these securities, but on the open market they only fetch 150 billion, doesn’t that leave 150 billion still obligated by the Fed and on their balance sheets, and in fact still in circulation?
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