CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that investors shouldn’t expect the Federal Reserve to ease the economy because the market is suffering.
“Investors need to learn that the Fed is not your friend, not your pal – if anything, it is your enemy, at least until [Chair] Jay Powell is finally beating inflation,” he said.
Shares fell on Thursday after new data showed retail sales fell more-than-expected in November.
Markets were also dragged down by hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Powell signaled at the press conference following the Fed’s meeting that rate hikes will continue next year.
“Powell couldn’t have made it clearer that … not only is he trying to stabilize prices at these levels, he wants to reverse the price increases of the past few years,” Cramer said.
He reminded investors that the central bank’s main job is to contain inflation and that it plans to hike interest rates until prices fall significantly.
A contributing factor to the Fed’s lack of sympathy for investor struggles, Cramer says, is a factor in the likelihood of the Fed turning around any time soon.
“While [Powell’s] He’s not explicitly trying to send stock prices down, he certainly won’t shed tears about it. If anything, lower stock prices are a win for the Fed,” he said.
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