“It’s just like this whole idea during COVID, ‘Oh my God, inflation’s transitory,’” he said. “It’s like, well, the train just hit you, buddy, because we’ve been saying it’s transitory for like 5 years. It’s like, come on.”
He also objects to the way the Fed talks about measuring inflation. Changing the yardstick, he said, only delays the problem.
“Wake up, focus on inflation, and don’t change the metrics like they’re talking about,” Weinberg said. “Inflation is inflation, whether it’s like you’re going to trim this or trim that. At the end of the day, it’s inflation. And stop screwing with the numbers and deal with it, because the longer that we don’t deal with it, the more we’re stuck.”
Why the Fed may hold
Consumer prices climbed 3.7% over the 12 months ending in September, with core prices up 2.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The summary of economic projections issued by the Fed after its September meeting showed the Fed not reaching its 2% inflation goal until at least 2029.
Futures traders put the odds of a hold at 88.4% as of Tuesday afternoon, with the other 11.6% on a quarter-point increase, according to CME FedWatch. For the December meeting, the tool gives a 72% probability that the funds rate will sit 25 basis points above its current level, 9.1% for a half-point gap and 18.9% for no change.
