FOMC Statement
Released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
April 29, 2009
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20090429a.htm
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March indicates that the economy has continued to contract, though the pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slower. Household spending has shown signs of stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Weak sales prospects and difficulties in obtaining credit have led businesses to cut back on inventories, fixed investment, and staffing. Although the economic outlook has improved modestly since the March meeting, partly reflecting some easing of financial market conditions, economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time. Nonetheless, the Committee continues to anticipate that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and market forces will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth in a context of price stability.
In light of increasing economic slack here and abroad, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued. Moreover, the Committee sees some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.
In these circumstances, the Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote economic recovery and to preserve price stability. The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. As previously announced, to provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve will purchase a total of up to $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and up to $200 billion of agency debt by the end of the year. In addition, the Federal Reserve will buy up to $300 billion of Treasury securities by autumn. The Committee will continue to evaluate the timing and overall amounts of its purchases of securities in light of the evolving economic outlook and conditions in financial markets. The Federal Reserve is facilitating the extension of credit to households and businesses and supporting the functioning of financial markets through a range of liquidity programs. The Committee will continue to carefully monitor the size and composition of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet in light of financial and economic developments.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Elizabeth A. Duke; Charles L. Evans; Donald L. Kohn; Je
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April 29th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
“Moreover, the Committee sees some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.”
This is by far the most telling comment. They see what we see, which is stabilization, but they aren’t falling for the idiotic argument that inflation is or will be a concern for anyone for quite some time to come.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Cue BR ball-breaking from peanut gallery in 3…2….
In all seriousness, I got a bit more conservative today. Of course, that probably means Dow 14,000 within a month….
April 29th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
franklin411 @ 2:45
Mind if I bookmark your post and play it back when crude oil gets to $140…?
April 29th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
You can parse that franklin411.
That’s the most obtuse, poorly-worded sentence I can think of outside of the 2nd Amendment.
Does it mean inflation will persist?
Will inflation be less than zero, where rates are now?
Will inflation become rampant if the Fed doesn’t raise rates ruthlessly?
And on and on and on.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
This is by far the most telling comment. They see what we see, which is stabilization, but they aren’t falling for the idiotic argument that inflation is or will be a concern for anyone for quite some time to come.
That is an idiotic argument. But that doesn’t mean their won’t be a severe inflationary problem 5-10 years down the road when/if all this money starts moving through the system. At the very least it is a concern for anyone making longer-term loans. At worst it means yet another crisis that causes a “double dip depression”.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
@DL
Who cares? 1. I’m a debtor, and 2. I ride a bike =)
@Byno
It seems crystal clear to me: growth is their priority, and the economic risk they see is deflation, not inflation.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
“Moreover, the Committee sees some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.”
Inflation does not foster real economic growth (for proof, examine economic performance in the late seventies), nor does deflation impair it (the nineties). It is a monetary phenomenon. It just changes the accounting.
If these guys don’t even get that, well then it’s just more of the same…a long, tortuous ride to oblivion on the back of a dollar that will soon enough be worthless except as toilet paper.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Inflation does not foster real economic growth (for proof, examine economic performance in the late seventies), nor does deflation impair it (the nineties). It is a monetary phenomenon. It just changes the accounting.
It’s worth reiterating that the whole reason inflation/deflation is such a concern is that debt is recorded in nominal terms, not real terms.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
@franklin. I am going to have to fail you on sentence construction alone.
Referred to Professor Hoffer for advice on punctuation.
By not announcing Treasury purchases the Fed runs the risk that long dated bond yields are going to escape.
Assuming that spreads stay as they are, that means that mortgage rates are now likely to rise.
That is not going to be helpful to the prices of the assets that the Fed has pledged to support.
Of course the Fed may have decided it is out of ammo.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
What it really says when read properly by those who want to believe …
Excerpts:
————————————————————————————-
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March indicates that the pace of contraction appears to be slower. Household spending has shown signs of stabilizing. The economic outlook has improved since the March meeting. The Committee continues to anticipate that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and market forces will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth in a context of price stability.
Inflation will remain subdued.
—————————————————–
Fodder and fertilizer for the stock ponzies.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
If this market marches all the way to 900 without so much as a 7% pullback, I, for one, will nominate Karen as the new queen of the Ritholtz blog forecasters.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Who was the old queen? I didn’t even know we had one. Is Leftback a queen? I’m so confused:)
April 29th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Franklin, the fact that you ride a bike does not insulate you from oil prices.
CMG doesn’t grow their own ingredients on site.
A short sighted comment. even with a =)
There is very little in our economy that does not require petro products at some point.
If not trucks and plastic…. It does not move.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
@Curmudgeon: We’ll just assume that you didn’t say that and elect Karen as permanent trading queen.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
@DL
don’t be too quick on that nomination — wait until you see whether her gold losses have swamped her long equity positions.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
It does appear that a bubble in equities is being engineered. How convenient for the banksters that need to raise equity — they can trade worthless (but somehow priced above worthless) shares for real cash, maybe ever dangling a quarter or two of dividends to troll for suckers in the sidelines pools. The fishing might seem to be better over there.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
constant, total current gold postion: iag up 54.88% (222k) at this second and my ugl is down 1.88% (1.2k). i have traded/sold some iag, gdx, gld and ugl this year . too lazy to look it up. i do have some nasty underwater positions though… my shippers. hoping DHT maintains it’s dividend as it will be worth it. PRGN cut theirs.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
If this market marches all the way to 900 without so much as a 7% pullback, I, for one, will nominate Karen as the new queen of the Ritholtz blog forecasters.
Also, recall Faber’s prediction of 880. If enough big funds listen to him that could be all it takes…
April 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
@ Curmudgeon: You can’t seriously believe that there is no economic impact from inflation or deflation. It does not just “change the accounting.” High deflation changes behavior, for example causing people and businesses to delay investments and purchases. Deflation encourages saving. Inflation encourages spending and debt. Uncertainty about future changes in purchasing power inhibits investment.
Changing how you keep score will change how people play the game.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Kellner: “Then there is the deflation we appear to be experiencing today. The consumer price index is down on a year-on-year basis for the first time since the 1950s. But there are two caveats that must be noted. The first is that this annual decline traces mainly to the sharp drop in energy prices over the past 12 months, which won’t last forever. Ex-food and energy, consumer prices are up nearly 2%. The other thing is that much of the inflation is not being picked up by the government’s statisticians. I am referring to shrinkage — that time-honored way of raising prices without having to boost tags.”
In other words, deflation is a myth created by the FED and used as a tool to explain to the taxpayer why they are spending our money to bailout their largest campaign contributors. It’s all about camouflage.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
@Leftback
C’mon that’s worth a C+ at least!
@Pat
Interesting quote, but he forgets that food companies held the line on prices and held off on shrinkage for quite a long time, even as the prices of underlying commodities were soaring. Price increases stick in people’s memories, but price cuts are quickly forgotten.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Chrysler bankruptcy tomorrow, according to ZeroHedge.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Deflation, my arse. My lunch sandwich went up 12% yesterday.
Of course, the cost of my sandwich, ex-sandwich, was unchanged.
In the long run, buying value and selling garbage is going to pay off. We all know which is which here. Personal income and jobless claims tomorrow. How many more f***ing rabbits do they have left in the hat?
This might be a good overnight short. Franklin, C+ is a fail in grad school.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Who cares anymore! DOW 20,000 here we come baby. I’m so relieved that it’s back to the bubble for us all. So glad this crisis over.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
“@ Curmudgeon: You can’t seriously believe that there is no economic impact from inflation or deflation. It does not just “change the accounting.” High deflation changes behavior, for example causing people and businesses to delay investments and purchases. Deflation encourages saving. Inflation encourages spending and debt. Uncertainty about future changes in purchasing power inhibits investment.
Changing how you keep score will change how people play the game.”
Inflation/deflation, properly understood, is only a change in the money supply relative to the output of goods and services it is intended to represent.
It (inflation) does create the illusion of rising demand (due to the rising prices) which then is translated into resources being devoted to meet this illusory demand. Ultimately, it all crashes down, as the increased demand was illusory and the excess supply crashes even the inflated prices.
But yes, it does matter how you keep score, or that you can keep score. A market economy depends on prices as the clearing mechanism for transactions. If the prices aren’t dependably representative of value, as is the case when a central bank has been monkeying with the money, then transactions cost become more expensive, thereby making for less of them. In that regard, each time the Fed comes out with a new money-printing scheme, it is shaving a few layers off the value-representation mechanism of all market prices, and there is a great cost to pay for that uncertainty.
But my original point is that inflation can’t, on its own, create demand (as they are attempting right now in the housing market) and deflation can’t destroy it. It can create a short-lived illusion of increased demand, but it can’t create demand in any real, long-term way.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
@’mudge: The “increased demand” in the housing market is a mirage caused by low rates, except at the very lowest end of the market in the most beaten down areas of the bubble states. There is plenty of supply in the middle and upper sections of the market and that’s where the next wave of pain will be felt.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
full disclosure, i forgot to mention USAGX in an IRA from 2002-03, dividends reinvested so even when it tanked it was still in the money. every portfolio needs some gold… : )
April 29th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I feel like I am in a Fellini movie- isn’t it bizarre that the cure is what brought on the illness- I should be thankful that my common sense is being overwhelmed by the brightest minds in America
April 29th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
@ franklin411
The point is; that despite a $100 decrease in a barrel of oil since last year and “shrinkage” rather than price increases on food, consumer prices are up 2%. And as I’ve said here before, do you know anyone who is alive that doesn’t eat or use some form of energy on a daily basis? Including those who ride bikes.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
you obviously don’t do the grocery shopping. Package sizes have been reduced in many cases while the price remains the same. That is an increase in price no matter how u slice it. Major purchases are down but daily expenses are up.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
@ Karen,
I owned a shipper that cut a div as well, DSX. Up a little bit on it for the year.
Who ever uses fed statement and the words crystal clear in the same breath?
Franklin, I like that you keep posting more and more every day despite the fact that everyone here, for the most part, is against you.
It’s pretty fun to watch it all.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
You guys are all swirling around in the details. Step back and ask yourself one simple question: what will be the next economic driver? Every growth phase has one, whether it be war (1940s), [small] war + technology + consumption (1950s), war again (1960s), nothing (1970s), [cold] war again (1980s), technology (but sadly, no war) (1990s), war yet again + consumption (2000s).
If history is any guide, and around 10,000+ years of human evolution points to a pretty accurate indicator, we need a combination of war, technology and/or consumption to push us into the next growth cycle.
I don’t see consumption making a big comeback anytime soon, since boomers will save every penny if they ever get a 2nd chance to pocket some cash. Technology is the big question mark, and may not provide sufficient employment for a labor base that appears to experiencing a net loss in collective IQ. (There’s a reason Calif cannot pay for 1st world amenities on a 3rd world economy.)
War is especially effective, as it is the ultimate zero-sum game. That is, the losers both die (thereby eliminating competition) and their assets appropriated to pay the debts incurred by the winners.
What we do know for certain is that legal, regulatory, monetary & fiscal manipulations have never led to true growth, but do provide an excellent way in which to maximize the earnings of those whose IQ are, at a minimum, 2 std deviations above the mean.
Let the games begin! There’s a lot of money to be made betting on this Administration. Thing is, you’re gonna need it to protect yourself from the, ahem, “less fortunate”.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
@centiare,
interesting post. If I were to judge Rahm’s comments it will be growth in energy tech development. He’s said it himself. I’m certain a war would be involved as well.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
LB hasn’t experienced any “shrinkage” despite doing the grocery shopping. Package size is unaltered.
LB will be out for a couple of days. Enjoy.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I’ve definitely noticed shrinkage in the frozen food section
April 29th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
“Moreover, the Committee sees some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.”
Funny how much he contorted the sentence to avoid using the word deflation.
As opposed to some, I am seing deflation. Obvious in housing. Other things: Milk is now $2.50-$3 a gallon where it was $4 last year. It’s not just oil that’s causing it to drop; a good percentage of milk was being exported to Asia or sold to restaurants in the form of cheese. That is going away. As a consequence, beef prices are dropping as the dairies couldn’t afford to keep the cows. Pork competes with beef, so it was dropping. I imagine pork will drop more. Some of the restaurants in Houston have actually cut prices as allowed by dropping meat and dairy prices and as required by reduced business..
Car prices have gone down. Car dealers claim the same retail price, but there are plenty of breaks in the form or rebates or low interest rates, even offers to pay your note if you get laid off.
Leftback: Still got some SRS I bought last week and have been taking a beating on. But I’m patient. I’m adopting the Hussman approach, i.e. having little opinion about the short term movement of the market. It could even get up to near 1000. In fact I hope it does, so I can feel confident about going shorter. But we all know that eventually the hat will be empty and they’ll be out of rabbits.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I refuse to get involved in a discussion on package sizes, no matter how tempting it might be.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Woo! Now we’re on Stage 5 (of 6) Pandemic Alert! =)
April 29th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Fed’s interesting motto: punish the savers.
i was wildly bullish since mar 9th. today i sold a half of my holdings and bought some faz, some bgu calls and puts. i have lots of cash ( percentagewise of course :) ). still holding some fas too.
we may have more up days, better to be early then being late.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
The full motto is: Punish the savers, renters and taxpayers, f*** the shorts and God save GS.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
@ ahab
i suspect lb’s package ( and everyone else’s) package is not kept in the frozen food section.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I bet mAnn Coulter keeps its’ in the frozen food section.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
leftback,
you and I have some synergy today. since I can’t watch the market, (and do my job), I put in my wish list for the faz at 8. turns out, it dipped in and out of that range, order executed, and I will hold it until tomorrow to see what happens.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
leftback Says:
April 29th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
… God save GS.
reply:
———————–
Don’t worry about GS. I’m sure they’re sufficiently hedged so that someone else covers the risk of Perdition for them. St Peter probably has an assistant that quit GS just to go work for him, as a celestial duty.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
They can punish me as a saver all they want. I’m still not changing my spending and saving habits. So, there, Ben? How you like me now? ;-)
April 29th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
@Mike in Nola: I’ve seen similar things here in the TC. There have been some amazing deals on beef, pork and chicken lately at our grocery store. We’ve been stocking up on lately. I still think we’ll eventually get inflation but I’m not seeing it yet.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
franklin-
why the excitement over the pandemic alert- is it funny? The flu has been known to kill millions of young adults probably about your age- you may want to take it a bit more seriously
April 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Ahab: Sometimes it’s good to be an old fart :)
April 29th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I see a headline that Egypt is slaughtering all pigs to stop the spread of swine flu. Two problems with that:
1. It’s not actually spread by pigs at this point.
2. What are Egyptians doing with pigs?
April 29th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
All this talk about packages in the frozen food section reminds me of the Sam Kinison routine……. starting at about the 2:00 mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1GjyrQiSRs
April 29th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
After everything, there is still no change. Volume was down 25%, with an up move of over 2%. Some of the stocks I do follow are actually down the past 3 weeks. We still need a 5% breakout one way or the other.
The fed comments sounds like they are stalling for time. No commitment outside of spending more on the long term bonds at some point.
I do have something positive. Citi raised my revolving credit line. Received an email informing me of how lucky I was. Looks like C is working on creating more money supply to help boost the fed.
There has been definite shrinkage in packaging in the grocery aisles. I’ve notice shavings of an 1 oz on Cereal boxes, cat food a few 100 grams on the large bags. These changes came in in the last half of last year. My Year to Year bills on groceries are up about 10% with no change in habits.
April 29th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
@Mark
10% of Egyptians are Coptic Christian, and they like their bacon!
April 29th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/29/news/economy/metropolitan_area_unemployment/index.htm?postversion=2009042915
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Unemployment rates in 109 metropolitan areas reached 10% or higher in March, almost eight times more than a year earlier, according to a government report released Wednesday.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
@centiare
No war. The only war that is lucrative to a nation is a war with another nation or something that resembles a nation.
I agree with ben22, the goal is to be the leader in energy technology.
Green industry. Think Henry Ford + Rosie the Riveter + Iron Eyes Cody.
If you don’t think so, meet our energy secretary…
http://www.energy.gov/organization/dr_steven_chu.htm
April 29th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Interested to see if the Fed’s $300b is really enough to keep treasury rates low. The 10 year yield has already gone back to where it was before the $300b was announced in March. The bigger issue is 10 year yield can really run up if the market keeps rallying… perhaps the fed will come out next month and decide to buy a few hundred billion in S&P futures… lever that sucker up!
April 29th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Who was that talking about rising oil prices:
Oil Floods Rotterdam, Europe’s Largest Port, as Demand Drops
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ae.YS7TBN0jY&refer=exclusive
April 29th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Hoffer-
if you’re out there- Mish stole your observation from yesterday:
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/
April 29th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Bruce — you might find Google’s latest data presentation offering interesting, esp. for comparing unemployment at the state level over time …
The folks over at Flowing Data have the story …
http://flowingdata.com/2009/04/28/google-adds-search-to-public-data/
I can’t wait until they add Fed data to their repertoire of graphing tools.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
excellent link- video commemoration of Obama’s first 100 days- a must see- franklin- make sure you check it out:
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2009/04/barrack-obamas-100th-day-in-office.html
April 29th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Boys (and girls)…
I was very very interested to see the 10 year finish at 3.10 today…and this even though we know BB is into his QE mode and is buying treasuries….
Ideas? what gives?
April 29th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Whammer-
finally checked out the Sam Kinison link- couldn’t open it work- pretty funny- the “starving children in Africa” bit is a riot
April 29th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
The Big Casino stays open only when FED spends another 1.75 Trillion. How much more money does it need to print and spend to protect the Wall St crooks welshing on their collective gambling debts ?
Or perhaps the rest of world will just get FED up ( pun intended ) and not buy US Treasuries.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Lewis out as Chairman of BoA, remaining (for now) as CEO.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Bruce,
I asked the same on another thread about the Treas.
On the 30, it broke through its shelf and should head to 4.4% from here, two equal legs up from the December low would be 4.6%.
Very Interesting….
April 29th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
another thought
the sell in May and go away probably doesn’t apply this year. lots of big money got forced to cash during the normal buying cycle so the seasonality isn’t the same.
Market could pull back short term but I think a push up to 965-1000 on SPX could occur and then it will be time to get the shorts on.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
ahab,
that’s cool, Mish is a good egg. He’s brought much light to many, previously, too shadowed hollows.
past that, really, the observation is hardly unique. it’s pretty elementary, actually. The FedRes Is a Cartel, with ‘Gov’t’ seal of Monopoly, designed to stifle innovation. At least Ma Bell paid a div..
Bruce,
and the 30-yr is North of 4%. BenBer, if he can, better not let those creep too much higher, they might never come back…
April 29th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
km4,
w/this:”perhaps the rest of world will just get FED up”
some, nearby, already are
http://www.endthefed.us/
April 29th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
mark,
wasn’t kennedy the last person that tried to do that?
April 29th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
ben22,
yes. and there’s a reason why the Warren Commission report was sealed for 50 years.
Specter isn’t the only, subsequently elected to high office, politician whose careers would not have continued/started, but for the cover-up.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/whose
and, as you may know, the sick *joke is that the Zapruder film is part of an incoming President’s ‘orientation’..
http://www.john-f-kennedy.net/abrahamzapruderfilm.htm
April 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
NIKKEI going parabolic this evening.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
NIKKEI going parabolic this evening.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
for once in my life i agree with the fed. inflation is not an issue. those who believe inflation is about to rear it’s head are completely delusional. i would say those are the people who believe the stock market is going higher. the stock market and the fed are at different ends of the universe. i for one do not see what the stock market or casino sees. and obviously the fed does not either.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Mannwich: Same as is going on here. Factory output dropped 5 months in a row. Overall it had been down 34%. This month it went up 1.6% following a 9.4% decline last month. Green shoots indeed :)
Even more important, it beat expectations.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Me-thinks there’s too much fear (read: rampant greed) of missing the bottom right now. Panic buying all around. Do these kinds of run ups on mostly lower volumes usually come before a new bull market and growth economy?
April 29th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Why oh why won’t they let my 3LB form a trend down? I have a feeling that we’re headed for 932 on the SPX tomorrow (happens to be R2 on the monthly pivot). If weekly claims comes in even or below expectations it’s up up and away. There’s just not enough fear in the market for a bottom…yet.
April 29th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
I don’t sense any fear out there anymore. How is that possible? It just seems bizarre.
April 29th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Jeff,
people like to ignore that which makes them uneasy, they’ll go to great lengths to do so, as well.
BenBer has a tough nut to crack. Higher Stox, peep stay quiescent b/c their 301(k) is not a 120(k), but then other players leak out of the Bond mkt…
for him, the easiest thing to do, Buy Stox, makes his job harder–keeping enough peep corralled in Bonds..somebody’s got to buy those things..
so we may be seeing the first steps of the new Dance: longish Rallies (~8 weeks), sharp setbacks, repeat, as needed..
guessing..
April 29th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I’ve always thought when bonds return a better value than equities then there is a massive selloff in equities. What happened? Is it because it’s the end of the month? Does the “Sell in May” begin on Friday? 3% used to be the tipping point on 10 yr Treasuries.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
franklin,
nice point about the Coptics in Egypt..they rarely get any play..
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6193785.ece
The decision was also criticised as a “real mistake” by a senior UN food expert.
The Arab world’s most populous nation has been been badly hit by the H5N1 bird flu virus in recent years and the move to cull up to 400,000 pigs – seen by Muslims as unclean animals – was designed to calm fears of an impending pandemic.
But it left Egypt’s large Coptic Christian minority up in arms, especially the slum-dwelling “Zebaleen” rubbish collectors who rely on the hogs for their livelihood. Scores of them blocked the streets and stoned the vehicles of Health Ministry workers as they arrived to carry out the government’s order at pig farms on the outskirts of Cario this afternoon.
“Our pigs are healthy. They are our capital and they have no diseases,” said Adel Ishak, who feeds his pigs from the rubbish he collects in Manshiet Nasser, northeast of Cairo.