Word: feds
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...According to figures released Friday, personal spending, the engine of the boom, rose just 0.2 percent in May - the same level as the revised April numbers. Personal income, the engine of personal spending, rose at a slower rate. And the report's implicit price deflator, one of the Fed head's favorite inflation indicators, was unchanged in May for the second straight month. If this keeps up, Greenspan could sit on his hands for the rest of the year...
...Fed chairman emerged Wednesday from a two-day meeting with his Federal Open Market Committee at 2:15 with the news that he would do what, by now, nearly everyone watching closely expected him to. The Fed left short-term interest rates alone and spoke ominously, if opaquely, about the future, the better to keep the markets on their guard about a quarter-point hike (already forecasted in some circles) at the FOMC's next meeting August...
...their own part, Wall Street investors finally decided Wednesday morning they knew what was coming, and put together a nice little "buy on the rumor, sell on the news" rally that stood ready to unravel just as neatly in the wake of Greenspan's call. The Fed's comments are aimed at defusing a rally-cum-wealth effect that could spark consumption and undo all of Big Al's good work. But there'll be more than enough relief left over to spark a nice upturn in the days and weeks ahead...
...hikes will rupture corporate earnings, the other that this economy will bounce back from apparent lulls, like in 1998 and 1999, to force a more dramatic tightening on credit in August and possibly even beyond. As Greenspan's soft landing glides on - so far, so good - investors and the Fed chairman alike will be scouring the economic skies for signs. And so the Fed guessing game begins all over again...
Because contestants memorize the same material, "it's like a beauty pageant, where the winning teams are the ones best at giving a speech," grouses Hatem. Fed up, two of the past three national champion coaches have resigned, as have at least a dozen others, including three last month...