Racket wrote:
Maserati wrote:
The very first thing that Powell said was that he and his colleagues have one single goal: to maintain the economic expansion.
I like Powell and I think he's trying his best but he's a total fish out of water on this job
My sense of Powell is that he's like a weak scribe. Somehow I think that he has avoided the realization that in certain areas, might makes right. His having been a lawyer, it is incredible that it seems to have escaped him.
I believe that he wants to do good, and from what I understand he is popular with those on the Fed as even-handed, even-tempered, thoughtful, and facilitative--all admirable qualities. But the Fed, as with other things as Racket has said, is controlled by a few larger interests. It is not independent, and it does not work on behalf of the citizenry. Powell was put there for a reason, and this reason has become obvious.
What's amazing to me is that there are people who still think and act as if the markets reflect business fundamentals. Equities and bonds are just asset classes, which must be compared to and contrasted with other asset classes, and used appropriately and in proper measure. It doesn't matter if the whole thing is rigged--just like the gold market, the stock market has its virtues and pitfalls, the trick is knowing what they are, and when and how to act on that information.
While Igy laments the state of the US equities markets, the bond markets are no better. I have zero faith in the rating agencies, for various reasons. As for gov bonds, it just enables theft at a slower, but completely known, rate. I have always believed that real consumer inflation was much higher than reported. Here is a graphic from shadowstats that illustrates possible consumer inflation minus the tweaks:
http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-chartsConsider that the Fed is signaling lower rates, in such a consumer inflationary environment. No that's not the "real"inflation picture, it's a picture of the price of a basket of goods. Inflation itself is created by money creation, which may be the metric on which the Fed is focusing, as it is lower. As before, rate cuts will be good for a certain stratum--the bigger you are and the more connected you are to money creation, the better. The rich get richer. This effect cannot be ignored.
I'm sufficiently confident to go along for the ride, to the tune of 3%, but I know exactly where I'm going to exit, and what I need to see. I am under no illusion that the companies I have bought are "worth" 5% more than they were a month ago, economically speaking. I said earlier that I was thinking of bumping up to 5%, and I still might, as I'm getting some validation, minor though it is.