Saturday, March 31, 2012

Fed's Low Interest Rates 'Toxic' for Economy: Pro

While the U.S. Federal Reserve has reiterated it would keep interest rates near zero until late 2014, Sam Chandan, Chief Economist at Chandan Economics, says that low interest rates distort asset prices and are "toxic" for the economy.

"An extraordinarily low interest rate environment has become our drug of choice in this country. But the potential impact on the economy over the long run, in terms of how it distorts the markets, is potentially quite toxic. Its something we got to back away from," Chandan told CNBC.

The U.S. has not had an "interest rate environment that looks anything close to normal for a long time" and when that happens it will be difficult to handle. He gives the example of the housing market, which is struggling to recover despite low mortgage rates.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46901256

1 comment:

Kritika Kuppuswami said...

Low interest rates are not the only "toxic" elements to this economy. Low level of earnings also has a huge impact on the economy because it affects consumers' spending habits. It is important to improve the earning potential of all workers, especially recent graduates.