Twice in one day!
I am off to the Nasdaq, to discuss the Fed decision, and the Microsoft/Yahoo merger / tea party. So I will be out of pocket by the time the news gets released.
Feel free to use the comments to elucidate . . .
UPDATE: APRIL 30, 2008 5:33PM
FOMC cuts federal funds rate by quarter point to 2%
Fed cuts discount rate by quarter point to 2.25%
FOMC emphasizes inflation, downplays risks to growth
FOMC vote to cut rates is 8-2, says inflation risks rising,
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 2 percent.
Recent information indicates that economic activity remains weak. Household and business spending has been subdued and labor markets have softened further. Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and tight credit conditions and the deepening housing contraction are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters.
Although readings on core inflation have improved somewhat, energy and other commodity prices have increased, and some indicators of inflation expectations have risen in recent months. The Committee expects inflation to moderate in coming quarters, reflecting a projected leveling-out of energy and other commodity prices and an easing of pressures on resource utilization. Still, uncertainty about the inflation outlook remains high. It will be necessary to continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.
The substantial easing of monetary policy to date, combined with ongoing measures to foster market liquidity, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate risks to economic activity. The Committee will continue to monitor economic and financial developments and will act as needed to promote sustainable economic growth and price stability.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Timothy F. Geithner, Vice Chairman; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Frederic S. Mishkin; Sandra Pianalto; Gary H. Stern; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against were Richard W. Fisher and Charles I. Plosser, who preferred no change in the target for the federal funds rate at this meeting.
In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 25-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 2-1/4 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
So tell me what another 1/% accomplishes relative to keeping rates steady. It seems to me that no cut would have been a message that we understand the inflationary dangers and might, just might have a calming influence on the commodity markets. Methinks they blew this one.
Yawn……….
Those meany Feddie guys are really really this time they mean it gonna get tough on flation!
My Aunt Fannie. Flation. You can buy it now or pay more later. Hoard sugar.
Yep. Inflate away!
Hey Winston, they keep raising our ration of chocolate from 100 grams to 90. At this rate, obesity problems will vanish soon. Sure, you might get some plagues and stuff, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
Inflation has always been good for Oceania.
I love Big Brother. I’ll have some more Victory Gin, if you please, sir.
it seems from stock market reaction that investors start realizing the situation is probably more serious and will require more time than expected… Or is this just a typical “sell on the news”?
Re:Ben Benanke “…inflation risks rising,”
Ivory tower perception: low interest rate will take out inflation.
Real Time Example: Two 30k steel double wall (fuel) storage tanks were 105k yesterday (29 April).
Today new price quote for same tanks: 140k
now that roughs out to 32% increase.
Oh, and Commerical Capital is growing scarce.
Next stop…Welcome to the Weimar Republic Hyperinflation!
As always, your mileage may vary….
What a disappointment. There is no reason for the dollar not to continue falling. Oil and other commodities will continue to rise. Had the FOMC held rates or raised them a bit, there would have been a mad rush to the door with respect to energy and other hard assets. This would have broken the back of inflation with practically no effort or ill effect elsewhere, except for a temporary fall in the stock markets.
Now we can have inflation plus stagnation due to higher prices in commodities and related items.
What a bunch of fuck ups.
Yep, look at the ticker on the oils, as soon as the rate cut was announced, they turned green in a hurry…further inflation, further dollar weakness ahead….
C closed below the 25.27 offer price today. That is not supposed to happen. I don’t think this will help bank’s capital raising plans..
Goodnight and Good luck
they peso will turn… it doesn’t have a choice.. oil is not going to $200 and gold will not see $1500 this year.
I wonder if there are some other choices..
The fed is just the king of mediocrity.
Those who can’t do, Teach….
Greenie would have cut both rates by 50 points!
And he could blow a mean horn!
This may have been posted (by Barry or others) before….Sobering in scope.
Dual Cycles of Demand Destruction and the Economic Face Plant
http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php?p=33121#post33121
Billary,
Remember that in the 1% period (from mid 2003), the discussion was of the risk of deflation (eg. Ben B. on the subject).
Real short term interest rates (using FFR less PCE deflator, (see this chart) were taken negative, to around -1% in 2003.
Contrast that with today. The fed clearly recognizes inflation risks, yet has taken real rates even more negative (to around -1.75%) than in 2003.
In other words, by this measure, Bernanke is “blowing the horn” even harder than Greenspan.
Estragon,
Excellent point. It looks like the Fed is even more spooked than they were 01-03.
I also noticed that the ratings cartel is downgrading a whole bunch of alt-A paper. If memory serves, alt-A is bigger than subslime.
I guess the move today is the Fed’s way of signaling that oil is still too cheap.
We need to require that at least some members of the Fed have real world experience trading for a living. With just an extra word or 2 in the statement, they could have rallied the dollar, and helped the consumer a great deal. The market had basically put it on a tee for them, and they wiffed.
You keep using the expression “out of pocket” incorrectly. It is annoying as hell. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_pocket for a lesson.
~~~
BR: Its a living language. Adapt: Out of pocket
Q: I’ve always thought that the phrase “out of pocket” referred to the absence of money, not the absence of people. But the expression seems to have evolved into meaning unavailable. Why? I find it annoying!
A: There appear to be at least three distinct meanings for “out of pocket”:
(1) At a fiscal loss: In this case, “out of pocket” means out of one’s own pocket—in other words, you have to pay for something yourself. Examples: “I thought the tickets would be free, but I got stuck with paying, so I’m $150 out of pocket.” Or, “Mrs. Grosvenor refused to pay for the cabinetry, so the carpenter was out of pocket.” The Oxford English Dictionary has this usage dating from 1679.
(2) Behaving badly: According to the newest edition of Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang, “out of pocket” is a variation on the phrase “out of (the) pocket,” a 1940s African-American expression referring to bad behavior or a bad situation. Cassell’s says this meaning grew out of pool jargon (a shot that was “out of pocket” or “out of the pocket” caused a player to miss a turn).
(3) Unavailable: I first came across this meaning in the early 1980s when I was a staff editor at the New York Times. Reporters who had filed stories were supposed to supply phone numbers where they could be reached in case questions arose. If a reporter was unreachable (say, on a plane to Tibet), he or she was said to be “out of pocket.” The OED cites published references for this meaning dating back to 1946, though it didn’t become common until the 1970s.
thats it? you didn’t mention what I thought it meant
4> I’m keeping up with the world wide web “out of pocket” with my cell phone / Blackberry connection device … so don’t expect much because I prefer the big keyboard and screen at lightning speed