Posted on 11/19/2004 8:24:46 AM PST by soccer_linux_mozilla
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks fell modestly Friday as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan sounded a warning over the nation's spiraling trade deficit.
Wall Street paid close attention to Greenspan's unusually frank assessment of the trade imbalance and its effect on the U.S. economy. The Fed chairman said the economy was resilient thus far, but would be vulnerable to foreign influence should the deficits continue to build.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
"Current account imbalances, per se, need not be a problem, but cumulative deficits ... raise more complex issues," Greenspan said in speech in Frankfurt, Germany. A copy of his remarks was distributed in Washington.
So far, foreigners are willing to lend the United States money to finance the current account imbalances, Greenspan pointed out. The worry, however, is that at some point foreigners might suddenly lose interest in holding dollar-denominated investments. That could cause foreigners to unload investments in U.S. stocks and bonds, sending their prices plunging and interest rates soaring.
Can anyone explain to me how we've (U.S.) allowed this to happen?
Bad news, This should turn around come Black Friday!
Can't really answer that question. But when we all go shopping for the holidays...the market should get better.
Increased spending, lowered taxes, worse economy. Mathematics.
Would someone please tell Greenspan to stick a sock in it? Everytime he blows his wad, he sinks the stock market.
We have similar problems with the budget DEFICITS as well.
It looks like there were only 10 fiscal conservative Republicans who were willing to vote against the Bush administrations request to raise the debt ceiling, here is the Roll Call:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll536.xml
Proverbs 22:7b: "and the borrower is servant to the lender."
I agree. Greenspan can change the entire market for better or worse with a single word. He says jump, they jump.
Thanks...
Running a country is a business like any other, only on a grander scale, right?
These numbers seem to indicate poor business management or, we're being sold out?
Increased spending, lowered taxes, worse economy. Mathematics
Excellent Point ! I have a strong feeling the reason the economy did so well last year was the Fed playing games with the rates which of course sparked a housing boom. Other than that the economy may have been stagnent. I would not be surprised if a recession starts 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2005.
When Black Friday comes
I'll stand down by the door
And catch the grey men when they
Dive from the fourteenth floor
When Black Friday comes
I'll collect everything I'm owed
And before my friends find out
I'll be on the road
When Black Friday falls you know it's got to be
Don't let it fall on me
Well, The market is VERY unpredictable. I think there are two ways to predict it. Optimistically or Pestimistically.
Only if you are a socialist and you believe that the government needs to "run" the country.
Huh? What worse economy? Of course, spending is totally out of control.
Allan does this for poltiical reasons. Bush would be wise not to put any pressure on Israel. If he does, Allan will tank the economy.
I know that sounds terribly paranoid and conspiratorial, but it seems to be true.
We import some oil from abroad and run it through our SUVs at high speed. We buy foreign merchandise because we want to fill our huge houses with stuff we will look at one time and then toss. We sell nothing to foreign markets. Should somebody do something about this? Who? What?
Man, you make me feel guilty in my Honda CRV.
No, I don't think the gov needs to "run" the country and I'm not a socialist.
But I do expect our government, who is responsible for the "FEDERAL Trade Deficit" - to correct it! Pinhead
What Federal trade deficit? Are they counting the $200 billion spent in Iraq for which we will never be repaid in oil or anything else?
First off, I am not neccessarily defending the trade deficit. To the extent that the trade deficit is caused by bad government policies, then certainly there is a role for the government to "fix" it.
But, bear in mind, the trade deficit is the cumulative result of millions if not billions of individual transactions, all entered into by individuals or corporations acting on the behalf of shareholders. In each instance, the transactions are entered into by people of their own free will. To what extent should the government step in-between a domestic and foreing person and tell them they can't enter into a transaction?
Now, there may be many good reasons for the government to have tariffs and such, but, a trade deficit is not neccessarily a bad thing. Borrowing is not neccessarily a bad thing. It's not a bad thing when a person borrows money to buy a house to put a roof over his head, nor is it a bad thing when an entrepreneur borrows money to start a business. It may be the case that all of this foreign investment is the seed of future US dominance of the globe.
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