** who's fooling who?

The Fed is becoming concerned with inflation - at a time when wages increased over the last 12 months by the smallest amount in decades.

So the Fed is going to continue increasing interest rates and kill the US consumer who is already borrowed to the hilt in debt. By the way, it was Greenspan who told them to go out there and borrow money for personal consumption.

Does the Fed seriously believe this action will reduce US consumption of oil which will lead to a drop in the price of oil on world markets?

Who's fooling who?

Any slack caused by US consumption will be taken up by energy hungry countries like China. So maybe the Fed had better think closely about what they are doing.

Is it their aim to make more energy readily available for China? It's typical. No thought about the consequences, just like the "great" Greenspan had no thought for the consequences of printing, printing, printing US dollars.

While commentators laud Greenspan now and say how he will go down in history as one of the greatest Federal Reserve Chairmen, when we see the mess that is developing in the US directly as a result of Greenspan's loose monetary policy over many years, I suggest history with the benefit of hindsight may well consider Greenspan was one of the worst ever Federal Reserve Chairmen.