The Federal Reserve has backed itself into a corner, especially with the rate hike it announced last week, this according to mining maverick and Fed critic Frank Giustra. In an exclusive interview with Kitco News, the LeaGold chairman said he doesn't expect the central bank to deliver the rate increases it has promised. 'They'll continue to talk about normalizing rates and they'll find excuses not to,' he said. 'I think the next accident that happens - whether it's a stock market crash because stock valuations are at an all-time highs now and we are ready for a major correction there - any event that causes crisis in the system will be met by further easing and another version of QE.' The actions the Fed took in response to the 2008 financial crisis never fixed the root problem, Giustra said. 'We papered it over with cheap money and that's made a small segment of the population very rich but it certainly hasn't helped the economy.'Don't forget to sign up for Kitco News' Weekly Roundup - comes out every Friday to recap the hottest stories & videos of the week:https://connect.kitco.com/subscriptio...Join the conversation @ The Kitco Forums and be part of the premier online community for precious metals investors: https://gold-forum.kitco.com/ -- Or join the conversation on social media: @KitcoNewsNOW on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kitconewsnow --- Kitco News on Facebook: http://facebook.com/kitconews --- Kitco News on Google+: http://google.com/+kitco--- Kitco News on StockTwits: http://stocktwits.com/kitconews