Minutes from the Fed’s March policy meeting released late Wednesday showed officials agreeing that they would likely begin shrinking a $4.5 trillion portfolio of Treasury and mortgage securities later this year. “It looks like the Fed is bringing it forward but we expect it to still be gradual.”Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Minutes from the Fed’s March policy meeting show officials agreeing that they would likely begin shrinking a $4.5 trillion portfolio of Treasury and mortgage securities later this year. The Fed minutes also showed that some officials view stock prices as high relative to valuation measures, citing the possibility of a correction in financial markets as a risk to their economic forecasts. Also weighing on risk sentiment were reported comments from U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday suggesting that the executive and legislative branches of government weren’t in sync on tax policy.

Source: Wall Street Journal April 06, 2017 02:41 UTC