Andy Xie Explains How The US Exports Inflation To China, And How It Will "Come Back To Bite Us"
Courtesy of Tyler Durden
Andy Xie follows up on his earlier Op-Ed that describes how the Fed is implicitly funding the stimulus in places like China. In a simplified version of the article, he talks to Bloomberg’s Betty Liu, recapping the key issues."When the Fed prints money it is just creating inflation in emerging economies. But when the inflation in the EM gets high enough, it will bounce back, it will become inflation in the US."
As to why EM countries would be unable to manage their inflation, Xie says that most emerging economies are focused more on holding down their currencies, as they see "global demand as relatively weak", seeking more than anything to keep their exports competitive. "That force is allowing them to allow all the money to come in and become inflation." And unfortunately Andy does not think unemployment is going lower any time soon, attacking the very core of the Fed’s dual mandate: "I don’t think high unemployment is a panacea for keeping inflation down." Of course, if inflation does strike the EMs, and wage increases are demanded, making the playing field a little more level, it may just be precisely the stimulus that the US needs to get its wage structure marginally more competitive, thus pushing the "new normal" unemployment lower.
