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I am about as knowledgeable about the Stock Market as what John Effin' Kerry knows about being a Conservative, however,....

It seems to me that these DOLTS at the FED need a good kick in the calculator from GWBush.

With just a few well chosen words they cause a panic and the market drops 139 points in 4 minutes...

Why does W keep Greenspan around? Greenspan, I think, was one of the KEY reasons for the Clinton Recession. Along with Microsoft suit, Al and Bill conspired to cause the recession at the end of the Clintoon admin, just in time for W to inherit the downturn and cause him grief for three years or so.

You cannot find the MEDIA pointing out that the recession ACTUALLY DID start in March of 2000 and they Will Not print that fact. There was a post here just days ago citing a report from a Gubmint panel saying just that.

Greenspan should go and we should get some people on the Fed that won't be flapping their lips without thinking that they can affect the market so much in just one day.

I understand that the market alone is not "the economy" however, the DemoDolts use "the economy" as a bat to bash at will.

Say goodbye Alan...when BUSH wins in '04.

Well?

GRRRRRollin' 04 the USA

The debate as to the efficacy of G-span and his various moves is long and drawn out.

However, one has to remember exactly what he is charged with. Today I heard some pundit declare on TV that he is charged with "controlling inflation and keeping unemployment 'low'". As I understand it, nothing could be further from the truth. Also, regardless of whenever one might think the recession started, his handling of it has been nothing but inept IMO. Because IMO not only did he create the conditions which spawned it, he largely triggered it. And his steadfast refusal to let things run their course has delayed the repair of the conditions that grew the recession. Ten years from now I predict he will NOT be the object of hero worship as he now is. Except of course, by the member banks.

He is the head of the central bank, a private, non-government coporation owned by and operated for the benefit of its' member banks. Period. Far from controlling inflation, he is doing his best to induce it at this point. Why? Because his interests lie in maintaining the rising price of assets so that the loans securing them remain serviced. He is interested in a rising stock market so that pension funds are refloated without excess cash contributions from the corporate sponsors of same. Employment, he could care less about. He is interested in the health of the member banks that comprise the Fed. That means: loans get repaid. He has compensated for the loss of jobs over the past few years by lowering interest rates to inarguably synthetic levels, which has seriously eroded the value of the dollar. But everybody's happy because they can borrow money for trash at low rates. Meanwhile, the mantra has been "there's no inflation". Right. Who actually believes there is no inflation? The people overjoyed at the runup in their home prices or the ones who are having a rough time affording insurance of ALL types? And he has taken up the cause of "productivity" which for most people means that fewer people perform the same amount of work; hence corporate wages paid decline. Again, there's no such singular thing as "the economy"..in the sense that if you and I go to a Yankees/Red Sox game and your team is the Yankees and they lose, it's a lousy game for you and a great game for me.

Gspan gets a lot of credit for his handling of some of the crises of the past decade and a half, but in my view he not only sewed the seeds of same, he created the crises on top of the unstable conditions he himself fostered. It's a lot like glorifying an arsonist for putting out the fires he himself has set.

"...Wall Street worried that by dropping the phrase "for a considerable period," the central bank is getting closer to beginning a series of rate hikes..."

I'm not an economonist, either. It is all rather complicated, but when interest rates are kept low, new competition is given a chance to get its start in the market. Employee wages go up, unless employers remain very stubborn against hiring more. Also, the US Dollar falls with respect to other currencies--good for employees but with some hint that some power might be taken from the established market elite. The elite in some other countries, BTW, want their currencies to be worth more in the world markets. When US employment rates fall, they cash in their investments. They would much rather buy products from the US cheaper.

Some US corporate leaders don't want new competition, thus all the yelling a couple of years ago on Fox News' Cavuto show about not being able to control Greenspan. Alan Greenspan wants to keep the rate low. President Bush really wants to facilitate an "ownership economy" where the social left, corporate status quo (also known as the "Condottieri") does not own everyone through rentals and other consumerism. This might give, eventually, more power to the politicians and voters. At the same time, US employers want madly to enlarge the labor pool through making sure that every woman works outside the home, more Mexicans are brought in, and so forth. So very established employers want to see the rate go up, as do many US investors.

Some people around Greenspan have urged that some hint be passed to the established elite that interest rates might be raised again, to pacify them. ...thus the foolish word about that to the press, foreignors sell their investments, etc.

If you own enough resources and want to rule US politics with an iron fist, you want interest rates to go up and to keep a large labor pool. If you don't have or want either of the above, you might want to see interest staying low and to have a smaller labor pool in order to have that lower cost, more likely chance of starting a new business or to get higher wages.

...from one who did little more than a Macro-Economics class. ...make any sense?

It looks like the liberals' claims that deficits and interest rates are so closely related is another one of their lies.

What really pissed me off is that my uncle, who is investing for a business, knows that interest rates are low. But he said, "I hope they stay that way with 'old what's his face' in the whitehouse." How the hell can he try to blame Bush for high interest rates? I understand George isn't perfect, and is spending too much, but he did work to lower the interest rates, and all people like my uncle can do is attack him for it being "probably temporary." Probably because he doesn't want to admit to taking a personal risk by investing his own money.