Fed infighting drama: Is the dissent over interest rate cuts a smokescreen for power struggles?

The suited folks at the Fed are about to put on a show again! In the early hours of Thursday, this interest rate meeting looks calm on the surface, but underneath it's all knives and swords. Trump's spittle is almost spraying on Powell's face as he shouts for rate cuts, but those old foxes at the Fed are playing deaf and dumb—interest rates? Same as usual! But the real explosive news is that there's going to be a fire in their own backyard—Waller and Bowman, these "insiders," are sharpening their knives, ready to come out and sing a different tune! It's been five years since the Fed's decision-making body has made such a big stir, and what's even scarier is that since the year Clinton was still dancing in the White House, we've never seen two "iron rice bowl" members rebel at the same time!

In a normal year, if these two big shots were to bang the table and call for a rate cut, the market would have already been filled with the sounds of drums and firecrackers - a definite signal of monetary easing! Isn't a rate cut expected at the next meeting? But right now? Ha! Wall Street veteran Tom Essaye scoffs: "What are you pretending to be a big bad wolf for? Who doesn’t understand this?" Powell’s golden chair will be vacant by May next year! Waller and Bowman’s eyes are turning green! Jumping out to call for a rate cut at this time?

It's clear that this is a pledge of loyalty to the understanding king! Lick! Just lick hard! No matter if your economic data is dead or alive, I'll lick my way to the new chairman position first! What’s even more disgusting is that regardless of whether these two really care about the economy, the market has long regarded them as clowns—"Perform! Keep performing! I'm just here to watch the monkey show!"

The irony is that Powell used to boast about his excellent governance and how united everyone was like one solid piece! On the other side in Japan, actuary Tang Ze threw out data that slapped him in the face: during Powell's tenure, these people voted in unison like they were in military training! For the first time ever, the "disharmonious notes" are not for the country or the people, but for fighting over official hats! The political black hand has reached into the Fed's treasury, so what independence are we talking about? "Independence my ass! It's becoming the White House's backyard!"

The market reaction is even more extreme! On Tuesday, the stock market dropped symbolically, just a little, as the recent crazy surge needed a breather. But the bond market went haywire! The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield plunged like it was free-falling, dropping nearly 9 basis points in one go! Investors appear calm on the surface, but they're already boiling inside: waiting for the Fed to finish their squabbling, and even worse, waiting for the bombshell of Friday's employment report!

Macquarie's actuaries pointed out in their report with a hint of gloom: the doves shouting that the economy is failing are not just making noise; the U.S. economy indeed has hidden injuries. Rate cut in September? The betting table is already set! Those gamblers in the futures market are betting furiously— the probability of action in September has soared past 60%, and the odds for two cuts by the end of the year have piled up to 65%!

Disgusting! Really f***ing disgusting! A group of technocrats who should be focusing on inflation and employment have turned into schemers in the bureaucratic world! Decisions that greatly affect the people's mortgages, car loans, and savings have become stepping stones for their own advancement! What kind of situation is this?! Why are those people on Wall Street watching with cold eyes? "I saw through it early! It's a bad show!" Those who voted against it with "insight" are wrapped in the sugar coating of economic analysis, but inside they are filled with the maggots of power!

I ask you: When the Fed's abacus starts clinking for political ambitions, when a deadly economic tsunami really hits, how many life-saving bullets does this hollowed-out central bank have left? What kind of bullshit credit can it use to fend off disaster? When the next crisis truly arrives, who the hell will be the first to be ground into meat paste?! Is it the Wall Street big shots? Or old John selling hot dogs on the street?!