And Now, Even More Bad Financial News
There will hopefully come a day when the news from Wall Street is actually good (at the moment, anything better than utterly terrifying news would be nice), but Tuesday was not that day, despite Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's intimations that help could soon be on the way.
There will hopefully come a day when the news from Wall Street is actually good (at the moment, anything better than utterly terrifying news would be nice), but Tuesday was not that day, despite Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s intimations that help could soon be on the way.
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…The New York Times:
Stocks plunged on Tuesday afternoon — shedding 200 points in the final hour of trading alone — despite reassurances from the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, that the central bank was prepared to lower interest rates, words that many investors had said they were waiting to hear.
“You are getting all the things that you would think the equity markets would respond very favorably to,” Steve Sachs, director of trading at Rydex Investments, said. “But at this point it just doesn’t seem to be doing it. It’s the attitude of “Sell” — regardless of what the news is.”
The Dow Jones industrial average, which had lumbered downward from early in the session, accelerated its losses in the final hour and ended down 508.39 points, breaking below the 9,500 mark to close at 9,447.11.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell by 5.7 percent, ending below 1,000 for the first time in five years.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Market forces are colliding as another U.S. financial crisis brews. Meanwhile, sit tight on the roller coaster.
The September/October issue of Foreign Affairs features an article titled “Print Less But Transfer More: Why Central Banks Should Give Money Directly To The People.” It’s the sort of thing normally heard only from money reformers and Social Credit enthusiasts far from the mainstream. What’s going on?
"Hundreds of pages of transcripts, based on recordings made at the time, reveal the ignorance of Fed officials about economic conditions during the climactic months of the financial crisis," The New York Times reports.
Congress has the power to amend the Fed -- just as it did in 1934, 1958 and 2010. For the central bank to satisfy its mandate to promote full employment and become an institution that serves all the people -- not just the 1% -- the Fed needs fundamental reform.
There is a tradeoff for all the loot Obama’s friends have been pilfering from working people, and that tradeoff is trust. Americans no longer have confidence in the government, the market or the justice system. And while the effects might not appear in the next month or two, there are sectors of the economy that are showing signs of weakness already.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.