ＤＩＹクオンツ運用者は各々だけでは業界大手の威力や影響力、資金力にかなわないが、総力で考えれば、金融市場の様相を一変させ、業界の未来についての根本的な問いを提起しつつあることは疑いがない。
原題：Meet the DIY Quants Who Ditched Wall Street for the Desert（抜粋）
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace despite the global economic and financial developments of recent months. Household spending has been increasing at a moderate rate, and the housing sector has improved further; however, business fixed investment and net exports have been soft. A range of recent indicators, including strong job gains, points to additional strengthening of the labor market. Inflation picked up in recent months; however, it continued to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run objective, partly reflecting declines in energy prices and in prices of non-energy imports. Market-based measures of inflation compensation remain low; survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance, in recent months.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee currently expects that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market indicators will continue to strengthen. However, global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks. Inflation is expected to remain low in the near term, in part because of earlier declines in energy prices, but to rise to 2 percent over the medium term as the transitory effects of declines in energy and import prices dissipate and the labor market strengthens further. The Committee continues to monitor inflation developments closely.
Against this backdrop, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1/4 to 1/2 percent. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting further improvement in labor market conditions and a return to 2 percent inflation.
In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation. This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments. In light of the current shortfall of inflation from 2 percent, the Committee will carefully monitor actual and expected progress toward its inflation goal. The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate; the federal funds rate is likely to remain, for some time, below levels that are expected to prevail in the longer run. However, the actual path of the federal funds rate will depend on the economic outlook as informed by incoming data.
The Committee is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction, and it anticipates doing so until normalization of the level of the federal funds rate is well under way. This policy, by keeping the Committee's holdings of longer-term securities at sizable levels, should help maintain accommodative financial conditions.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Janet L. Yellen, Chair; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Lael Brainard; James Bullard; Stanley Fischer; Loretta J. Mester; Jerome H. Powell; Eric Rosengren; and Daniel K. Tarullo. Voting against the action was Esther L. George, who preferred at this meeting to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/2 to 3/4 percent.
１月の連邦公開市場委員会（ＦＯＭＣ）以降に入手した情報は、ここ数カ月間の世界経済や金融動向にもかかわらず、経済活動が緩やかなペースで拡大し続けていることを示唆している。家計支出は緩やかな速度で増え、住宅部門は一段と改善した。しかし、企業の設備投資と純輸出は軟調だった。力強い就業者数の増加を含め、最近の広範な指標は、労働市場が一段と力強さを増したことを示している。インフレ率はここ数カ月間で上向いた。しかし、エネルギー価格とエネルギー以外の輸入物価の下落を部分的に反映して、委員会の長期的な目標である２％を下回り続けた。将来のインフレを示す市場ベースの指標は低いままで（remain low）、調査に基づいた長期的なインフレ期待の指標はここ数カ月、総じてあまり変わっていない（are little changed, on balance, in recent months）。
委員会は法律上与えられた責務に従って、雇用最大化と物価安定の促進を目指す。委員会は現在、金融政策の運営姿勢の緩やかな調整（gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy）により、経済活動が緩やかなペースで拡大し、労働市場の指標は引き続き力強さを増すと予測している。しかし、世界経済と金融動向は引き続きリスクをもたらす（global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks）。エネルギー価格のそれまでの下落（earlier declines）を部分的な原因として、インフレ率は短期的に低いままで推移すると見込まれる（inflation is expected to remain low in the near term）が、エネルギーや輸入価格の下落による一時的な影響が消え、労働市場がさらに力強さを増せば、中期的に２％に向かって上昇すると予想される。委員会はインフレの動向を引き続き注意深く監視する（continues to monitor inflation developments closely）。
