<JOBS DISAPPEARING FAST
The latest cut comes against an increasingly grim backdrop of rising unemployment and eroding consumer confidence. In the third quarter, the United States logged its sharpest quarterly contraction in national economic activity since the last recession in 1990-91.
In its statement, the Fed said it still saw weakness, rather than price pressures, as the main threat to the U.S. economy -- a sign it was ready to cut rates further should gross domestic product continue to shrink, as most private forecasters expect it will into early next year.
The economy already was slowing before hijacked aircraft flattened New York's World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, halting much of national commerce for days and inflicting lasting scars on airlines and other sectors.
Last week, the Commerce Department confirmed GDP contracted at a 0.4 percent rate in the third quarter.
During October, 415,000 jobs were scrubbed from payrolls, the most in two decades, as the combined impact of the attacks and anthrax fears hampered activity throughout the economy>
Well, there's a reason to buy stocks!! NOT! Market up a few % today due to 1/2 point rate cut leaving the dico rate @ 1.5% lowest since Kennedy. As the perfect scenario unfolds for GOLD, lemmings buy the tech and financial stocks. I expect the other 1.5% to disappear rather quickly as many on this and CFZ have predicted. I'll be shorting some things for the rest of the week, this is a great time to be a bear. Amazing how Wall Street folks ignore the real story, but one persons mistake is anothers opportunity I suppose.
dAK |
