The Fed's Communication Breakdown

CAMBRIDGE â?? Nothing describes the United States Federal Reserveâ??s current communication policy better than the old saying that a camel is a horse designed by committee. Various members of the Fedâ??s policy-setting Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) have called the decision to keep the base rate unchanged â??data-dependent.â? That sounds helpful until you realize that each of them seems to have a different interpretation of â??data-dependent,â? to the point that its meaning seems to be â??gut personal instinct.â?