Fed, seeking to leave zero behind, grapples with Catch-22

IF we define a “Catch-22” as being in need of something that you can only get by not being in need of it, then the Federal Reserve, mulling a rate hike off the zero lower bound in September, is kind of caught.

The minutes from the July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, besides showing a genuine split about when to proceed with the first interest rate hike since 2006, also betrayed nervousness over the limitations it faces given unprecedentedly low official interest rates.