By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a component of the Federal Reserve System, is charged under United States law with overseeing the nation's open market operations. It is the principal organ of United States national monetary policy. (Open market operations are the buying and selling of United States Treasury securities.) The Committee sets monetary policy by specifying the short-term objective for those operations, which is currently a target level for the federal funds rate (the rate that commercial banks charge between themselves for overnight loans). The FOMC also directs operations undertaken by the Federal Reserve System in foreign exchange markets, although any intervention in foreign exchange markets is coordinated with the U.S. Treasury, which has responsibility for formulating U.S. policies regarding the exchange value of the dollar. - Source: Wikipedia
The consequences of the Federal Reserve's loose-money policy are starting to hit home. Even members of the Federal Open Market Committee are concerned, as revealed in the Wednesday release of the minutes of a meeting earlier this year.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday for the first time announced a new target of 6.5 percent unemployment for the U.S. economy — down from the current 7.7. percent — and started an additional easing program aimed at achieving that goal.
The Federal Reserve concluded Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting without making a decision to change anything. The Fed intends to continue buying long-term securities, mostly mortgages, in an effort to keep interest rates artificially low.
Last week, the Federal Reserve announced it would undertake a third round of quantitative easing, dubbed QE3. Quantitative easing is the Fed's practice of purchasing long-term financial debt, such as bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The objective is to bring down long-term interest rates to help the continuously ailing economy.
The past five days have made for an interesting week. Tuesday marked the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11, a day of shock, horror, sacrifice and sorrow. A day that we Americans always should remember, no matter what NBC and “The Today Show” might think. (NBC broadcast a live interview with Kris Jenner, the mother of Kim Kardashian, instead of airing the Sept. 11 memorials that took place in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania). Wednesday marked the unveiling of the much-anticipated Apple iPhone 5, the latest and arguably the company’s greatest smartphone.
The Federal Reserve says the economy is growing moderately while cautioning that risks from Europe remain. It also is holding off on taking any further steps to boost the recovery.
The Treasury's money-printing presses might finally be getting a break. After efforts to pump massive new reserves into the economy through two rounds of "quantitative easing," the Federal Reserve finally realized its easy-money policy hasn't worked. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke decided Wednesday to channel the 1960s and do "The Twist."
This past week could be characterized as a relatively quiet one in the market — trading volumes were somewhat light, new economic data flow was modest and corporate earnings news was light in advance of next week, which kicks off March 2010 earnings results. Despite that, two key issues came to the forefront — inflation and the risk of a federal government shutdown.
What will happen to the stock market when the Fed completes its current bond-buying program at a time when we are feeling the fuller effects of recent commodity price and other input costs?
The Federal Reserve chairman said Friday that the Fed will consider making another large-scale purchase of securities if the slowing economy were to deteriorate significantly and signs of deflation were to flare.
What a difference a week or so makes. July was a pretty good month for stocks and capped off a strong rally that began in mid-May.
