Even as the US Federal Reserve debates how to navigate an approaching easing cycle, it faces another significant and potentially market-moving task: its next strategic review.
The results of the Fed’s last strategic review, announced during the pandemic in August 2020, proved unfortunately timed. Adjusting definitions of the inflation and jobs targets probably contributed to the bank’s slow reaction to rising prices. Its choices shaped the economic and financial market fallout still echoing today.
Conclusions from this next review are likely to be announced about a year from now. Given their ability to impact investors, it’s worth paying attention to deliberations along the way, including any signals from this week’s central banking conference at Jackson Hole in Wyoming. Beyond an obvious need to learn lessons from the last review, here are some areas that seem worthy of the Fed’s consideration.