Three Conditions Necessary Before a Rate Cut Comes, Analyst Says
Joseph Keating, chief investment officer at First American Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that the Federal Reserve is done raising rates -- and he named the three conditions that will have to be in place before it makes a cut.
“One, you’ve got to get the unemployment rate rising,” Keating said. “The Fed has never lowered rates without the unemployment rate going up –- something about 5%. Second, you’ve got to get the inflation rate consistently inside 2%. Third, we’ve got to have the overall growth rate in the economy remain in the 1.5%-to-2.5% range. When those three conditions are in place, then the Fed will cut rates.”
He added, “I don’t know that it will happen anytime soon.”
He said investors should take a look at “solid mainstream companies” with growing cash flow, solid earnings and dividends such as Raytheon, Coca-Cola, PPG Industries, Consolidated Edison and Kimberly-Clark.
