Fed Chair Says the Word 'Data' 47 Times, Markets Soar
Analysts hail most information-free press conference in central banking history as decisively bullish.
Satire
Markets rallied sharply Wednesday after the Federal Reserve chair delivered what analysts are calling a masterclass in saying nothing, using the word data 47 times, the phrase meeting by meeting 11 times, and the word committed to committing to nothing at all.
We view the total absence of information as clearly bullish, wrote one bank strategist, upgrading his year-end target for the fourth time this quarter. The chair could have said something, and he chose not to. That is the kind of optionality this market wants.
Bond traders spent the afternoon parsing whether the chair's use of somewhat, rather than the widely expected modestly, signaled a dovish pivot. Three separate hedge funds reportedly repriced their entire rates book based on an eyebrow.
The next press conference is scheduled for six weeks from now, at which point the data will remain dependent.