Sonders: No QE3, No Problem

The Federal Reserve didn’t give any indications after its last meeting that it will be undertaking a third round of quantitative easing, and Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders says that’s good news.

“Personally, I disagree with the many who feel the only prop under this very strong market has been quantitative easing,” Sonders writes in commentary on Schwab’s site. “I do believe the economy has entered the second phase of the recovery (the expansion phase) in which jobs will be more plentiful, small businesses will be greater participants, and even housing will be a positive contributor. The market’s recent strength –and importantly, its surge immediately after the Fed’s announcement into [Tuesday’s] close — supports this view.”

Sonders, who made very accurate calls on the start and end of the “Great Recession”, says she agrees with Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, who has said liquidity injected into the economy through the first two rounds of quantitative easing hasn’t made its way into the real economy yet. Instead, it remains on banks’ balance sheets, invested in financial assets, or sitting in cash or at the Fed itself, she says.

“Why keep treating a recovering patient like it remains in the operating room?” Sonders asks. “Fisher recently said, somewhat bluntly, that he sees ‘no need to administer additional doses unless the patient goes into postoperative decline.’ He went on to suggest that if incoming data continues to show accelerating improvement in the economy, ‘the markets should begin preparing themselves for the good Dr. Fed to wean them from their dependency rather than administer further dosage.’ Hear, hear.”