HARM

Fed Funds Rate Irony

What's so "ironic" about the Fed basically repeating the same mistake they made last time (trying to "cure" one debt-induced asset bubble with another?).

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" --Inigo Montoya


The current Fed chairman wholeheartedly believes that the Great Depression was caused by deflation --or rather, the Hoover-era Fed's "allowing" deflation to take root-- and does not assign any special importance to the massive overleveraging and stock market gambling that preceded the 1929 crash.

Naturally, if one refuses to recognize the *cause* of a market panic and assigns all the blame to a *symptom*, then the Fed's actions might SEEM ironic, even though they are not.

It is also interesting that your chart only goes back to 2000 vs. say 1980, which would show that today's 2% is still shockingly LOW by historical standards.

What Credit Crunch?

So... let me get this straight: the fact that Americans are hopelessly debt-addicted (and many are now technically insolvent due housing bubble implosion) is *good news* because... up until now, there's always been another cheap-money pimp around the corner willing to give the debt-junkie his next "fix".

If this is "good" news, please spare me the bad news.

Avoid the U.S. Until the Subprime Mess Really Hits the Fan

Every time you say you dont believe in real estate, a Realtor® dies. All you need is trust and a little bit of pixie dust!

Negative Reaction to Third Fed Discount Rate Cut No Cause for Concern

--"derivates"
+"derivatives"

Negative Reaction to Third Fed Discount Rate Cut No Cause for Concern

"It's only a flesh wound."

Yup, no reason to be concerned here people. So what if a few $Trillion in mortgage-backed derivates evaporates between now and 2012 (Google 'Credit Suisse ARM reset chart')? The Fed will just drop short rates to zero and inflate the heck out of everything else. Nothing to see here people, move along.

Cutting Rates Further Will Only Lead to Disaster

Very nice summation of the "conundrum" the Fed is facing. Nice to see someone "gets it". Overreliance on cheap credit begets asset bubbles, asset bubbles beget inflation, inflation + post-bubble aftermath begets flight to quality (metals, commodities & stronger currencies).