The recently-released Federal Reserve minutes of the June 22/23 meeting revealed that the Fed is confused and concerned about the economic recovery.
Yes, there are glimmers of light in the reams of data, but there are also plenty of warning signs in equal, if not greater, measure.
As an aside, I happen to think it is a very good idea to read the entire Fed minutes from time to time, and not just the shorter press releases. The longer minutes provide the important insight that Fed meetings consist of about 65 people, sitting around in a conference room listening to report after report about economic trends for two whole days. By the end of it, they must be exhausted and a bit numb.The meetings used to last one day, but Bernanke is, apparently, a data junkie, and so two days are now needed. I’ll bet more than a few folks there still silently grumble about this imposition.Here’s a fun little snippet from the meeting:
Industrial production rose at a robust rate in April and May, with production increases broadly based across industries. Firming domestic demand, rising exports, and business inventory restocking appeared to have provided upward impetus to factory production. In April and May, production in high-technology industries again rose strongly, with substantial gains in the output of semiconductors and further solid increases in the production of computers and communications equipment. The production of other types of business equipment continued to rebound, and the output of construction supplies advanced further. Production of light motor vehicles turned up in May; nonetheless, dealers’ inventories remained lean.
Zzzzzzzzzz… Can you imagine two days of that?
by davos 
