I want some of what this guy is smoking:
<<Fed's Poole says trade deficit no need for alarm
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit, currently at record levels, should not be viewed as a source of alarm, St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said on Monday.
``I don't think the trade deficit is a problem,' Poole said during a question and answer session following a seminar sponsored by local government officials.
``So, you should not believe there is any necessary day of reckoning as a consequence of the ongoing trade deficit. That is perfectly normal. And, in fact, this is by no means unusual in U.S. history,' said Poole.
Last Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit swelled to a record $25.18 billion in July, as Asian and European goods flooded the U.S. market.
Poole noted that within the Fed there is a wide range of opinion about the trade gap as there is a wide range of thought outside of the central bank.
``There are views all over the place. And the views within the Federal Reserve, I think, have a spectrum that pretty much corresponds with the range of views outside the Federal Reserve,' said the St. Louis Fed president.
With respect to the U.S. equity market, Poole said he was not sure if the stocks were priced correctly.
``There is an optimistic outlook. Is the stock market priced exactly right? I don't know,' Poole said. ``Clearly nobody does, but I think that that optimism we see in the stock market is consistent with this expansion we have underway.'
He said the stock market expansion has been ``phenomenal' and was consistent with developments in the marketplace such as new technology.
But Poole declined to comment on what he thought the true value of the U.S. stock prices should be.
``We do not have a view of what the appropriate level of the stock market is. We watch it, we follow it, and we try to offset its affects on the national economy,' Poole said.>>
Heinz, what is your take on the Fed reps falling all over themselves lately to perpetuate the Camelot myth? Jockeying for position to replace Asymetric Al? Some of these statements are beyond merely amusing and border on the reckless.
Seriously, look at all of the legs that supported the Goldielocks / Camelot pile of cr*p that supported 40 and 50 multiples: low interest rates, strong dollar, low oil price, low gold price, importing deflation from collapsing Asian economies, productivity gains (which have recently declined), blah, blah, blah...
Someone ought to pull out Blabby's stock tout from Jan/Feb and pick apart the conceptual logic in it - most of which is listed above. What's left? Momentum and sheer hope that the thing goes up?
The chairs are getting fewer and fewer... |
