HEI: As WSJ tips ‘earlier-than-expected’ end to QT, one bank assesses impact on VIX/rates vol.

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THE HEISENBERG writes: “I guess the Fed decided it was time call up WSJ’s Nick Timiraos and ask him to float another trial balloon. Back on December 6, Timiraos penned a fortuitously timed 492-word “article” clearly designed to juice markets by tipping an imminent Fed pause. “[As the Fed] push[es] up their benchmark, they are becoming less sure how fast they will need to act or how far they will need to go and want to assess how the economy is holding up under moves they’ve already made”, Nick wrote, in a piece that hit about a half hour before the close and served to catalyze a quick ramp.”