Does he cave and please Wall St. and play up talk of a cut or dig in his high heels and make it clear that a rate hike is more likely(even though he'll never do that.)? Or does he continue to twiddle his ladylike thumbs and curtsy his way out without saying anything? I thought it was time for another poll...it's been sooooo long!
Starting to think Bubble Ben will have a hard time pleasing the markets. Seems like reality about the effect of a housing slump is actually effecting the markets. Morgan Stanley's comments yesterday signaled a turning point in the way big banks are going to play this...CUT AND RUN!
Hes not saying a thing in my opinion, besides that here is something I found interesting: From etfdigest: Big Daddy Bill Gross of PIMCO stated that the Fed will have to either cut interest rates low enough so that mortgages would be at 5% or, he continued, home prices will have to fall 20%. He says the Fedâs hands are tied. I just said that which means, well, nothing at all really.
I've posted before: The powers that be won't let the fed keep rates the same, let alone raise them, when it would cause people to blame the federal government (vicariously by way of the federal reserve, despite the fact they are independent, technically) for a larger housing/mortgage/lending crisis than the U.S. already faces. Gross is right. Rates are headed lower, IMHO.
They are more scared of high inflation. Considering oil rebounding and gold near new high, I think their only choice is keeping rate unchanged.
I don't think they cut. I think Ben is sick of Fed created Bubbles and is just going let this one fix itself. 5.25% interest is way low enough for an economy to perform. It was that fool's Greenspan cutting rates so low that caused this problem. John
I think he's made it abundantly clear that his job is to control inflation. If it weren't for the housing issue I'm sure he would have raised rates already, which is not to say he's not raising because he's concerned about housing but that he knows he will be seen as the guy responsible for everything that comes with a rate hike right now.
bershanke must stand firm and not give into wall street or he's finsihed. if he caves in somewere down the line he'll lose all credibility. there's a real chance oil goes to $80 plus by summer if big hurricaines hit. he's in a box and the stock markets still in dream land