The Minutes from the January 27-28th FOMC meeting laid bare the extent of the hawkish tilt of the FOMC Committee and to the balance of risks in January. Officials made clear their growing concern regarding persistent inflation and diminishing concern around downside risks to the labor market. On inflation: “Most participants cautioned that progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent objective might be slower and more uneven than generally expected and judged that the risk of inflation running persistently above the Committee’s objective was meaningful.” In addition, “several raised the possibility that sustained demand ... (full story)