There’s considerable dissension within the ranks at the Federal Reserve, with many of Chairman Ben Bernanke’s colleagues saying the Fed’s monthly purchase of $85 billion in bonds should end by late this year.
“About half” of 19 Fed members “indicated that it likely would be appropriate to end asset purchases later this year,” according to minutes of the June Fed policy-making committee meeting, released Wednesday.
Today (Thursday), Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald spoke with Stuart Varney on FOX Business about Ben Bernanke and the deep plunge today from the Fed’s continued easing.
Don’t you just love how some things are named?
Like the Federal Reserve System, for instance. It’s a central bank that was conceived in the private study of a private hunting lodge on a private island by a bunch of private bankers who didn’t want to use the word “bank” in its name to fool taxpayers who thought it was a “system” to safeguard the public… from the very bankers who conceived it.
Where silver is trading today represents a 35% decline from six months ago – which has led many investors to bail on the white metal in 2013.
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street…
U.S. equities followed Europe’s lead and headed higher when the stock market today (Monday) opened.
Wall Street’s mood was lifted after Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy’s prime minister, ending weeks of political gridlock in the ailing European nation. The news also propelled Italian stocks up more than 1%.
Shortly before noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 68.55 points, or 0.47%, at 14,781.10. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was higher by 8.59, or 0.54%, at 1,590.83. The Nasdaq climbed 26.72, or 0.81% at 3,305.98.
Another lift to the stock market today came from a report on March consumer spending. The read was 2%, much better than and 0.1% rise economists had expected and up from a 0.7% gain in February and a 0.4% advance in January.
With just two more trading sessions left in the month, U.S. stocks are set to end April with gains. That would mark the fourth consecutive positive month for equities.
But it’s about that time when the familiar spring swoon weighs on stocks in the near term.
According to data from Bespoke Investment Group, over the past 30 years, an investor who bought the S&P 500 Index every Oct. 31 and sold the following April 30 would have reaped a 898% gain. In contrast, buying every April 30 and selling every late October would have returned just 56%.
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street…
