[TigerLikesRooster]

There would be another crisis on the scale of current Bear Stearns problem sooner than later. Fed may need a bigger gun, then. What would that be? What they are using now is big enough already.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Ingtar]

I think the Fed is part of the problem this time around, as is a certain former Fed chairman. They have overreached and panicked markets into a much worse situation than was coming if they had allowed the housing market to crash on its own stupidity. They’ve shot nearly every bolt they have. A 1% cut gives them, I believe, only 2.5% more to work with.

[Tempest]

I’m going to trade my dollars in for pesos soon. I need a secure investment.

[utherdoul]

It would be hilarious if rates were actually raised or left unchanged. I can just see the panic.

[advance_copy]

This is all just a bunch of political manipulation. They want a 2008 version of “It’s the economy, stupid.”

[durasell]

What’s the word on Asia this morning?

[Republic of Texas]

Is it possible to lower rates below zero?

[ex-Texan]

Rescue Puts Credibility of the Fed on the Line

All Eyes Will Be Watching Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke

[Vince Ferrer]

While it may help the big banks, it will probably not translate into lower rates for consumers, and it certainly will translate into a more quckly falling dollar. The best reaction to this for normal people would be for people to move into an export related job.

[eclecticEel]

Why don’t they just set the rate to zero already and be done with it?

Or they could regain their sanity and raise rates back to where they were before this whole ‘crisis’ began - I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.

[dennisw]

Gather 'round children! It's free money time.
Uncle Ben is handing out free money

[AmericaUnited]

Interest rates are not the real gun. It is liquidity.

[Happy Rain]

During Japan’s last really bad recession,their “Fed” kept cutting rates until the yen was availiable vitually interest free.
It didn’t help—the Japanese economy was still in the tank for nearly a decade—the trees in Tokyo parks had many white collars hanging from nooses as per the Bushido tradition of Japanese business where failure is inexusable and suicide an honorable way out.
Free market forces finally recued Nippon—probably sooner if they had not been influenced by government interference.

[KoRn]

Just damn...

and we refinanced our mortgage LAST month.

[Brilliant]

I don’t think that Bear’s problems would have been the Fed’s problems if it had not been for the timing. If Bear had collapsed two or three years ago, the Fed’s response would have been to ignore it.

And when the next “Bear” comes along, it may do just that, depending on the timing.

[sergeantdave]

Fire 5 million illegal and useless federal bureaucrats, cut all taxes by 50% and the economy will boom.

[montag813]

For once I want to see Bernake tell Wall St. to go screw and “only” cut 0.5%.

[M. Espinola]

"It's UP!! The market is up!"

(It won't last ......)