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Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt

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FinanceBrexit

Brexit Caused Fed to Hold On Raising Rates

By
Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
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By
Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
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July 6, 2016, 2:44 PM ET
Yellen Delivers Speech On Economic Outlook And Monetary Policy In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 6: Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen, second from left, visits with attendees before giving a speech on economic outlook and monetary policy on June 6, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today is the last time Ms. Yellen will speak publicly before the blackout period preceding the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 15, 2016. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)Photograph by Jessica Kourkounis via Getty Images

The biggest macroeconomic curveball of 2016 has been the decision by British voters to leave the European Union.

The news sent markets around the world reeling, while investors have fled to the safety of government debt, sending yields on the world’s safest assets to record lows. And while the Federal Reserve has gotten flak for not anticipating the economic stagnation that has gripped the wealthy world in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) June policy meeting, which were released on Wednesday, show that committee members were anticipating that the Brexit vote could cause serious financial turmoil.

When considering raising interest rates, “participants generally thought that it would be prudent to wait for the outcome of the upcoming referendum in the United Kingdom on membership in the European Union in order to assess the consequences of the vote for global financial market conditions and the U.S. economic outlook,” the minutes read.

Although stocks in the United States recovered last week after falling in the days after the June 24 vote, investors piling into government bonds suggest that there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to how a Brexit will ultimately affect the global economy. Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo said Wednesday that central bankers are still assessing the effects of the decision. “We’ll have to watch and see over the medium term. There is a good bit of uncertainty,” he said.

 

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