To: Ahda who wrote (2872 ) 1/4/2001 8:05:43 PM From: Hawkmoon Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 3536 That link is not coming through properly (that's why I provide both text and link when I quote someone)... But here's something I picked up on another thread that probably explains a lot about the Fed's actions:thestreet.com Tuesday Was Worst Day Ever for Fund Outflows, TrimTabs.com Says Here's one startling claim that the Fed may or may not have seen but gives a clear picture of how ugly investor sentiment had become before the Wednesday's rate move: Tuesday witnessed the biggest outflow of cash from mutual funds ever, according to figures from fund-tracker TrimTabs.com. We huddled with Charles Biderman, president of TrimTabs.com, to hear what his group found and what it means. TSC: According to your company, Tuesday we saw the biggest outflow of money from mutual funds in history. Since a lot of people view fund flows as indicators of investor sentiment, that was a pretty bleak figure. Biderman: Did the Fed know? The outflow was $10.7 billion for U.S. stock funds and $13.1 billion for all stock funds, U.S. and global. TSC: Can you compare that outflow to the amount of money mutual funds took in on the first business day of January last year? Biderman: An inflow of $1.3 billion. TSC: What does the $13.1 billion outflow figure from Jan. 2, 2001, say about consumer sentiment? Biderman: There was a crisis in confidence. TSC: Can you put that number into perspective? Biderman: Consider that the total inflow for all of November was $5.8 billion into all funds. The average monthly inflow for the first 11 months of 2000 was $27 billion for all funds. TSC: What did fund flows look like back in 1998, prior to the last intermeeting rate cut? Biderman: There were outflows that had been consistent. We had $5.7 billion in outflows in the period two weeks before and $3.2 billion the day before the rate cut. Back then, that was probably a record. TSC: Do you expect to see inflows now? Biderman: Yes.