I don't know if it changed my opinion, but it gave me a few other aspects to consider. Aspects that I should have brought to bear (excuse the term), but in my frustration I didn't.
One aspect is that the HH testimony is a stage, and Greenspan is using that stage to intimidate the markets by obfuscation. The press account of what he said is quite different from what he actually said, and this may have been part of his intent. If his intent is to bring the market down, why do that with interest rates when he can use the HH testimony and the power of the press?
Another aspect is that he is really over a barrel. He knows that continuing increases in the interest rates will crush the traditional industries, as ahhaha so colorfully pointed out. And yet if he does not raise them, the wealth effect that scares him so much will continue. So again he is using his stage to manipulate market opinion.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is an understanding that the congressmen will not ask questions that may cause market movement, and just leave it to AG to do his song and dance.
I still don't like it, but this is a different perspective. And I am also glad that I moved my core retirement funds into money market, because even if AG is playing a game, it is a dangerous game with real bullets. Besides, I've still got enough in the market that if qcom and my other stocks do half of what I think they will do, I can retire in style. |
