Monday, August 04, 2008

Ben Bernanke on Deck!

clipped from www.marketwatch.com


Federal Reserve policymakers are not going to
give a clear signal of where rates are headed after their meeting on Tuesday,
economists said.



Economists expect a "neutral" statement that won't prepare markets
for a rate hike in the near term.
"The next policy statement is unlikely to include a signal to financial markets that the FOMC is prepared to raise interest rates at the next meeting [on September 16]," wrote Brian Fabbri, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas.

"Should the actual rate climb above the Fed's upper limit, it would
forestall any chance that there would be a tightening in monetary policy,
especially during a Presidential Election Year," he said.

But at the same time, the central bankers will be reluctant to back
away from its tough talk about inflation, Fed watchers said.
 blog it
I think it's highly unlikely that the Fed will make any rate decisions at this point, as we cruise into the November election. I'd imagine they'd want to remove themselves from the political equation.

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