When Fed Speaks, You Say 'Huh?'

Oops, they did it again.

Federal Reserve officials bumped up interest rates again Wednesday and signaled that more hikes may be in store, breaking the hearts of bond traders who had longed for a sign that the central bank had finished tightening credit.

Instead, many investors and analysts found themselves scratching their heads over what Fed officials meant in their typically cryptic, jargon-laden post-policymaking-meeting statement.

"Some further policy firming may yet be needed," Fed policymakers said in their statement.

"Policy firming"? Huh? Who talks like that?

So much for former Fed vice chairman Alan S. Blinder's recent prediction that the Fed's new chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, would quickly lead the central bank to "adopt English as its official language," in contrast to predecessor Alan Greenspan's peculiar and sometimes intentionally baffling locution.

Ardent Fed watchers, instead of trying to decode Fedspeak into English, could try to master it by imagining how popular songs might translate into central bank patois:

Original Artist

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away/Now it looks as though they're here to stay" (The Beatles)

Fedspeak

The committee's previous forecast of long-term imbalances has shifted due to incoming information.

Original Artist