- The latest sign of the Fed walking back its hawkish attitude is a speech today from Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer at which he reiterates a rate hike is coming, but insists there are no plans - at this time - for a steady upward climb in the fed funds rate a la 2004-2006 (when the Greenspan/Bernanke Fed hiked 25 bps at just about every meeting).
- "A smooth path upward in the federal funds rate will almost certainly not be realized, because, inevitably, the economy will encounter shocks--shocks like the unexpected decline in the price of oil, or geopolitical developments that may have major budgetary and confidence implications, or a burst of greater productivity growth, as the Fed dealt with in the mid-1990s."
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