Here are the three things the Fed has done wrong, and what it still isn't getting right

cnbc.com:

After years of being a beacon for financial markets, the Federal Reserve suddenly finds itself second-guessed as it tries to navigate the economy through a wicked bout of inflation and away from ever-darkening recession clouds.

Complaints around the Fed have a familiar tone, with economists, market strategists and business leaders weighing in on what they feel is a series of policy mistakes.

Essentially, the complaints center on three themes for actions past, present and future: That the Fed didn't act quickly enough to tame inflation, that it isn't acting aggressively enough now even with a series of rate increases, and that it should have been better at seeing the current crisis coming.

«They should have known inflation was broadening and becoming more entrenched,» said Quincy Krosby, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial. «Why haven't you seen this coming? This shouldn't have been a shock. That, I think is a concern. I don't know if it's as stark a concern as 'the emperor has no clothes.' But it's the man in the street vs. the PhDs.»

Consumers in fact had been expressing worries over price increases well before the Fed started raising rates. The Fed, however, stuck to its «transitory» script on inflation for months before finally enacting a meager quarter-point rate hike in March.

Then things accelerated suddenly earlier this week, when word leaked out that policymakers were getting more serious.

The path to the three-quarter-point increase Wednesday was a peculiar one, particularly for a central bank that prides itself on clear communication.

After officials for weeks had insisted that hiking 75 basis points was not on the table, a Wall Street Journal report Monday afternoon, with little sourcing, said the