exacerbated some of those problems, driving up energy and food prices. Shopper confidence has crumpled and inflation expectations, among consumers if not in financial markets, have surged.After falling behind the inflation curve, the Fed has now been forced to play catch-up in the form of interest rate hikes worth 1.5 percentage points, with more to come. Many on Wall Street have questioned why the Fed hasn't been even more aggressive.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell"needs to regain control of the inflation narrative ... now he's losing total control," Allianz economic advisor Mohamed El-Erian."He's got to move because, if he doesn't, he's going to be chasing the market and he's not going to get there." The Nasdaq, which has a stronger tech focus, has suffered losses approaching 30%. Bitcoin, the highest-profile cryptocurrency, has tumbled nearly 60%. Copper, often considered an economic bellwether, has fallen more than 15%, and cotton has slumped more than 13%.Special purpose acquisition companies, which provide blank checks from investors and were all the rage last year, have fallen on hard times.