Nick Timiraos, a Fed mouthpiece, said Thursday's comments by the Fed's Hammam attracted widespread attention because some market participants overinterpreted them as a sign that the Fed may be preparing to cut interest rates in June. Hamak did not really say that a June rate cut was imminent. When Hamak talked about a June rate cut, he mentioned the qualifier "if" twice: "If we had clear and convincing data before June, if we knew what kind of action was right to take at that point in time, then I think the committee took action." The danger of relying too much on these overbroad ifs is that they don't provide particularly clear answers.