Friday: Consumer Sentiment

From the WSJ: To Buy Bonds or Not to Buy: Fed Hawks, Doves Air Views

The presidents of the Dallas, Richmond and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks, long skeptics of the wisdom of the bond buying, said this week that they would like to see the purchases scaled back immediately.

And San Francisco Fed President John Williams, who has been enthusiastic about the merits of the program, said Thursday that he is still prepared to reduce the size of the purchases "as early as this summer."

The president of the Boston Fed, meanwhile, suggested that there is a case that the Fed should be doing even more to boost the economy.

The article makes it seem like there is a significant split at the Fed. There isn't.

Some Federal Reserve members carry more weight than others including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Vice Chair Janet Yellen and NY Fed President William Dudley. I'd also pay the most attention to Charles Evans (Chicago Fed), Eric Rosengren (Boston Fed), and John Williams (SF Fed) and a few others. Richard Fisher (Dallas Fed) is entertaining, but has been mostly wrong about the economy.

The reality is there is little significant disagreement at the FOMC, and the I expect the bond purchases to continue at the current level through most if not all of this year.

Friday economic releases:
• At 9:55 AM, Reuter's/University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (preliminary for May). The consensus is for a reading of 78.0, up from 76.4.

• At 10:00 AM, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) for April 2013.