Last December, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate for the fourth time in 2018 and according to St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, enough is enough.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Bullard said the central bank is “bordering on going too far and possibly tipping the economy into recession.”
Bullard’s comments come as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is now preaching patience and adaptability regarding interest rate policy.
“As always, there is no preset path for policy,” Powell said. “And particularly with muted inflation readings that we’ve seen coming in, we will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves.”
Powell’s latest comments come as U.S. equities finished their worst year in over a decade. The Dow fell 5.6 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 6.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 4 percent.