Bernanke’s Successor
First President Obama says that Ben Bernanke has stayed on longer than he planned. Then he slaps him upside the head by saying that he has stayed longer than he was supposed. And when given the opportunity to walk that comment back, the president not only declines but also doesn’t give Bernanke any real ringing endorsement. All very interesting to say the least! Federal Reserve Vice Chair, Janet Yellen, is the odds on favorite to succeed Bernanke next year and […]
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Date: June 20, 2013
OUCH!!!
Tough week for Ben Bernanke gets worse as he throws ice cold water on the stock and bond markets, hinting that the $85B per month in money printing will begin to be reduced later this year and eventually ended in 2014 with rates rising in 2015. As much as I love Big Ben, I have less confidence in the Fed’s long-term forecast than my local weatherman’s five day forecast. Bernanke can jawbone all he wants, but I for one will be […]
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Date: June 19, 2013
Why Bernanke Can’t Be Fully Transparent
After being interviewed by Melissa Francis for so many years both at Fox Business and CNBC, it was great to finally meet her in person on set. She definitely does not lob softball questions! Here is the segment from the other day. http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2404884981001/why-bernanke-cant-be-fully-transparent/ Action in the stock market on Thursday and Friday was positive enough to indicate at least one more run to all time highs sooner than later. It was be interesting to what leads and lags if that […]
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Date: May 30, 2013
Big Ben Pours Cold Water on Bulls
The stock market saw a very dramatic and emotional reversal today as fresh all time highs were seen in the morning followed by a vicious selling wave from the highs until 3:30. The hardest hit sectors all focused on dividends that would become less attractive if interest rates rose. Utilities, telecom, REITs and financials. Pundits were quick to compare today’s action to that seen at THE peak in 2007 and 2000, but I believe that is misplaced. While the price behavior […]
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Date: May 24, 2013
CNBC’s Closing Bell at 3pm Today
Going to be on CNBC’s Closing Bell today at 3pm discussing our market outlook for the 4th and final quarter of 2012 along with some comments on Ben Bernanke’s “big” speech earlier today. We will have an extended article out this week on the Fed’s QE Unlimited and what it all means and if you should even care.
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Date: October 1, 2012
BOOM Goes the Fed Dynamite
Ben Bernanke & Co. delivered QE3 yesterday by announcing a plan to purchase mortgage backed securities (mortgages) for at least the next two months at roughly $40 billion per month. And the markets were delighted! The best analogy I can offer is that the markets are like crack addicts now and need their steady and regular fix of stimulus. As time goes on, a drug addict usually needs more and more drugs and that’s exactly how the markets are behaving. […]
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Date: September 20, 2012
