Fedspeak
Deliberately vague economics
Fedspeak is the deliberately vague, hedged language used by Federal Reserve officials when discussing monetary policy.
The ambiguity is strategic—allowing flexibility while avoiding market panic: The Fed chair's Fedspeak left analysts guessing whether rates would rise.
The term often carries a note of frustration at the opacity: I couldn't parse the Fedspeak to save my life.
Favoring aggressive action
- dovishFavoring conciliation over aggression
- accommodativeWilling to help others
- quantitative easingAsset purchases to boost economy
- taperingProgressive decrease in width
transitory · pivot · soft landing · restrictive · normalization · balance sheet · price stability · basis points
Openness to multiple interpretations
- vaguenessAbsence of precision
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- euphemismMild substitute for bluntness
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
coded language · deliberate ambiguity · noncommittal · opaque · imprecise · qualifiers · caveats · obfuscation
Organized media Q&A
- minutesSixty-second intervals
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- Jackson HoleWyoming mountain resort valley
- congressional hearingOfficial governmental fact-finding session
remarks · Powell · Yellen · Greenspan · policymaker · governor · briefing · Q&A
Rapid, unpredictable changeability
- reactionResponse to stimulus
- pricing inExpectations already incorporated
- bond yieldsReturns on debt instruments
- futuresContracts for future delivery
expectations · positioning · rally · selloff · whipsaw · equity markets · Wall Street · traders
hawkish
Favoring aggressive action
- dovishFavoring conciliation over aggression
- accommodativeWilling to help others
- quantitative easingAsset purchases to boost economy
tapering · transitory · pivot · soft landing · restrictive · normalization · balance sheet · price stability · basis points · tightening
ambiguity
Openness to multiple interpretations
circumlocution · coded language · deliberate ambiguity · noncommittal · opaque · imprecise · qualifiers · caveats · obfuscation · nuance
press conference
Organized media Q&A
- minutesSixty-second intervals
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- Jackson HoleWyoming mountain resort valley
congressional hearing · remarks · Powell · Yellen · Greenspan · policymaker · governor · briefing · Q&A · prepared remarks
volatility
Rapid, unpredictable changeability
- reactionResponse to stimulus
- pricing inExpectations already incorporated
- bond yieldsReturns on debt instruments
futures · expectations · positioning · rally · selloff · whipsaw · equity markets · Wall Street · traders · algorithms
Fedspeakplain language
Easily understood communication
plain English · straight talk · plainspokenness · candor · clear communication
Fedspeaktransparency
State of being see-through
forthrightness · bluntness · frankness · straight shooting · commitment
Fedspeakfull disclosure
Withholding no information
speaking one's mind · firm commitment · bluntness · forthrightness · telling it like it is
fed, feds, speak, speaks, speaking, spoke, spoken, speaker, speakers