Mal eine weitere kritische Stimme
aus PrudentBear:
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NOTE: President Bush has decided to appoint Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chairman. Bernanke was a Fed governor, and he currently chairs the Council of Economic Advisors.
Personally, I think this is a horrendous choice, although it has been widely reported that Bernanke wanted the position very badly. The fact that he got his wish may be something of a reflection that many really solid, serious candidates were, of their own choice, not in the running, since people meeting these criteria are more than aware of the "mess" (euphemism) Greenspan is leaving behind.
Interest Rates
* Notwithstanding Bernanke's appointment, concern about additional Federal Reserve rate increases is credited as one of the factors weighing heavily on the equity market in recent weeks. In turn, it is growing concern about inflation, voiced by several Fed officials (mostly district bank presidents) in recent weeks, that has market participants concerned about additional rate hikes.
* The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee takes place next Tuesday (11/1). As of last Friday, the federal funds futures market gave strong indication the FOMC will indeed undertake another 25 basis-point hike in the funds rate next week. The November contract finished Friday at 4.00%.
* And based on other futures quotes, this market was signaling additional rate hikes into next year. The December, January, February and March contracts ended last week at respective levels of 4.14%, 4.22%, 4.37% and 4.39%. Beyond next Tuesday's meeting, the following three meetings of the FOMC are scheduled for 12/13, 1/31 and 3/6 (there's no meeting scheduled for February).