Why financial markets shouldn't fear inflation
Warnings of upcoming inflation risks are eerily similar to previous false alarms in the last decade. As Democrats come closer to a “Blue Wave” following their surprise victories in the Georgia runoff elections, markets have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of larger fiscal stimulus and infrastructure programs stoking inflation and steepening the yield curve. However, in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), many in the financial world also expected consumer prices to balloon as direct asset purchases by the Federal Reserve and other central banks found their way into the real economy. Similarly, after the surprise election of Donald Trump in 2016, markets expected higher inflation due to large deficit-financed tax cuts. In fact, we witnessed the opposite.