Stock Ownership Goes Mainstream, and the Fed's Rate Lever Goes Numb
Half of U.S. households now hold stocks, up from under 30% in the mid-1980s. New NY Fed modeling work argues that wider participation spreads each rate move across more households, shrinking average equity positions and leverage, so spending, stock prices, and investment all respond less to Fed policy. The implication: the transmission channel that once made hikes bite has quietly weakened.