Markets fall, former Fed official argues for rate cut

Markets mostly fell on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.7 percent. However, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note was little changed but US crude fell 2 percent.

“When the Fed starts pulling liquidity back, that increases volatility which will be heightened in the next six to nine months,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company.

Former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Narayana Kocherlakota thinks that the Federal Reserve should instead add stimulus by cutting interest rates a quarter percentage point at its meeting next week.

In an article for Bloomberg, Kocherlakota pointed out that inflation remains below the Fed's 2-percent target, with markets apparently losing confidence that the Fed will ever reach its target. The Fed is also falling short of its goal of "maximum" employment.