Fed money printing and inflation

I will always worry about inflation but I found a post by Morgan Housel offering an interesting counter perspective on what the Fed is doing with the money supply

“The risk of rising inflation over the next few years is probably the highest it’s been in decades. Inflation happens when too much money chases too few goods, and Covid-19 closed a lot of businesses and gave people an unprecedented amount of money. The stars align.

That out of the way, let me cool things down: The Fed is printing a lot of money, but not nearly as much as it looks.”

The short version is that the dramatic increase in recent times can be attributed to a redefinition of savings accounts in the US – link to the post here. The inflation question is obviously way more complex than this simple data point but the post is short and worth reading.

Tony – From the Outside

Author: From the Outside

After working in the Australian banking system for close to four decades, I am taking some time out to write and reflect on what I have learned. My primary area of expertise is bank capital management but this blog aims to offer a bank insider's outside perspective on banking, capital, economics, finance and risk. View all posts by From the Outside