January 29–30 · Published February 20, 2008
Statement·Presser·Minutes·Policy
BBBen S. BernankeJanuary 29–30, 2008 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes read as more hawkish relative to the statement because they reveal a notable dissent from Mr. Fisher, who preferred to leave rates unchanged due to concerns about high inflation and the risk of unanchored inflation expectations, whereas the statement itself emphasizes downside risks to growth and the need for further easing.
Our reading compares the minutes of the January 29–30 FOMC meeting with the FOMC statement issued at the end of that meeting, three weeks before the minutes were published.
Vote
- Ben S. Bernanke
- Richard W. Fisher ↑ dissented
- He preferred to leave the federal funds rate unchanged
- Timothy F. Geithner
- Donald L. Kohn
- Randall S. Kroszner
- Frederic S. Mishkin
- Sandra Pianalto
- Charles I. Plosser
- Stern
- Kevin Warsh
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
Mr. Poole dissented because he did not believe that current conditions justified policy action before the regularly scheduled meeting the following week.
_____________________________
Brian F. Madigan
Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The federal funds rate target was lowered from 4-1/4 percent to 3-1/2 percent.
- The dissenting vote shifted from Mr. Rosengren to Mr. Fisher and Mr. Poole.
- The FOMC authorized a $20 billion swap arrangement with the European Central Bank.
- The next meeting was moved from January 29-30 to March 18, 2008.
- The statement omitted the explicit balance of risks assessment.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.