CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that he feels the Federal Reserve needs to be transparent with its plans, especially in relation to the restaurant chain. Cava‘with a very successful IPOwhich he says is a sign that the market is heating up.
Cramer thinks a booming IPO market could lead to an influx of money to Wall Street and a hiring frenzy, which is the last thing the Fed wants as it tries to cool the economy.
“The Fed needs to stop being so broad and opaque; we need narrow transparency from it,” he said. “Otherwise the animal spirits will start running again and companies will start hiring, which is the last thing the Fed wants.”
He acknowledges that some may argue that the economy is cooling on its own. Food giant Kroger just reported that food costs are falling across the board, and Cramer said he’s seeing numbers that suggest the cost of used cars and clothing are also falling.
According to Cramer, however, there is one major problem: housing. Cramer believes the Fed needs to provide a game plan for how it plans to deflate the housing market. He said he thinks the Fed’s ultimate plan is to raise unemployment so many move in with their parents, as has historically been the case when unemployment is high.
But he called the plan “convoluted and frankly heartless,” and while the Fed doesn’t control long-term interest rates, he thinks there’s another way to lower housing prices.
“To me, the best thing the Fed can do is maybe come up with a strategy where there’s more apartment buildings and more apartment buildings; but the only way to do that is to stop scaring people who work, stop scaring builders.” ,” he said. “We have a huge shortage of houses in this country, but who the hell would ever build another one if they think the Fed wants to crush the whole economy once those houses and apartments are done?”
