Omicron Offense

With the arrival of the Omicron variant, Fed fear of inflation has unseated unemployment as problem #1. Just as the Delta variant weakened GDP growth and worsened supply-chain problems, the fear is that a replay is in the offing with Omicron. Thus, the Fed is now likely to finish tapering by late March rather than late June and be in position to raise rates as early as 22Q2.