First, bravo to the Bernanke Fed for staying the course and learning from its September mistake: Don’t mislead the markets with a sudden change of direction. It appears that the Fed will provide investors with enough “forward guidance” if they wish to alter the market’s perceptions. FOMC members had plenty of time to dissuade traders if the recent slew of tepid data was going to steer Bernanke and Company away from another cut in QE purchases. The FED erred on the side of consistency rather than swerving to avoid the skidding emerging markets. Again, a FED pause would have further roiled a very nervous global financial market.
Posts Tagged ‘rand’
Notes From Underground: The Power of Big Data In the Time of Correlative Investment
January 30, 2014Notes From Underground: To The Talking Heads On TELEVISION … Europe Is Not the U.S.
September 28, 2011As the sellers of snake oil and the creators of the corporate cult of personality take their “bows” for breaking the story about the European bailout that roiled the global equity markets, I had to step back and realize that the European Polity is not the U.S. While Geithner and others are held captive to the vagaries of the DOW JONES and S&P, it seems that the Europeans, and, especially the Germans, are not enthralled by markets going up and how many days of a winning streak exist. There are actually decision makers who are not captured by the price of Deutsche Bank or Siemens. In the U.S. it is only the stock market reactions that seem to dictate the decisions made in Washington. Some in Europe seem to want to effect policy for the longer term regardless the cost to certain financial entities. If forcing the issue on how large a hit private bondholders are to take means that markets dive … so be it.
Notes From Underground: Time to throw the French Finance Minister to the Dustbin of History
May 26, 2011My turn. Everybody has had a comment on the appointment of the next IMF Managing Director. First, allow me again to voice my disdain for the IMF as it is usually late to the rescue party and its money and advice have done great harm to many in the the “emerging economies.” Most IMF actions have been to bailout the profligate creditors who made ill-thought out loans with the knowledge that there would be an international lending institution to backstop most losses. The post war world is replete with mal advice and ill-conceived programs that brought great pain to many economies in the underdeveloped world. Saying that does not mean that the IMF will be disbanded so the world is forced to engage the devil it knows.
(more…)