Expert on Federal Reserve's Asset Purchases

Price increases are pressuring the Federal Reserve to gradually lessen how much money it's injecting into the system by buying financial assets. It started putting money into the system last year to increase liquidity in the financial markets and prevent a credit crunch. It's also supposed to make money cheap to borrow for consumers and businesses, spurring economic activity. But it's inflationary. The Fed released the minutes of its July meeting and it seems many of its officials are concerned about inflation and expect the Fed to start tapering or lessening its asset purchases at the beginning of next year or sooner. But Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FX Street, says recent weak data on retail sales and consumer sentiment could make the Fed move more slowly. NTD asked him if the Fed's asset purchases really affect retail sales and consumer sentiment.