Federal Reserve Bank Chairman, Ben Bernanke, is testifying in front of Congress again today ... very likely for the last time. And he is telling both houses and the stock markets exactly what they want to hear ... that monetary tightening will not be started by the Federal Reserve Bank "for the foreseeable future" (see: CNBC Story). This is in stark contrast to what he said one month ago when he suggested that the Fed's tapering-off of its quantitative easing ($85 billion of money printing per month) would begin later this year and would likely be done by mid-year next (see: How Many Angels). Predictably these previous Bernanke remarks caused interest rates to soar and the stock market to swoon.
So the candy-man, Ben has appeared to reversed himself and promised to keep pumping money into the financial markets ... an action that is now being frequently compared to providing a dope-fix to drug-users. In the past, the Fed's job has been rather compared to taking away the punch bowl just as the party is getting a "glow-on and singing fills the air." Only this time, Bernanke has seemingly lost his nerve and is refilling the punch bowl with grain alcohol ... probably not the long-term smartest thing to do for the U.S. economy.
But then how many smart things is this country doing these days anyway?
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