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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (83763)	3/22/2001 4:12:10 PM
From: pater tenebrarum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

SB, MZM is growing at 28% annualized over the past quarter. the biggest monetary inflation ever witnessed since the Fed came into being. you can check a once weekly updated graph of the absolute numbers at the St. Louis Fed's web site.

To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (83763)	3/23/2001 12:31:24 PM
From: Thomas M.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

cbs.marketwatch.com The punchbowl runneth over By Dr. Irwin Kellner, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 10:32 AM ET Mar 9, 2001 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Having taken away the punchbowl to keep the party from getting too exciting last year and the year before, the Federal Reserve has not only brought it back, it has filled it to the brim with liquidity. That's right, fans, while you've been obsessing over the size and timing of the Fed's interest rate reductions, the central bank has been pouring money into the economy at rates unseen in quite a few years. Let's start with the monetary base, the high-powered money that the Fed creates and has total control over. See the Fed's money supply data. federalreserve.gov As recently as last month, the base was shrinking, year-over-year, by close to 5 percent after climbing by more than 15 percent last year at this time. Now it's rising by 3 percent. Moving on to the money supply M1, which no one pays much attention to anymore, this measure is up at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 12 percent in the past 13 weeks, while year-over-year the increase is 8 percent. These gains were last seen in 1999. The more popular M2, which is a broader measure of the money supply, has soared at an annual rate of over 16 percent in the past 13 weeks-one of the fastest growth rates for this aggregate in recent memory. Its year-over-year growth rate is now more than 10 percent; 6 percentage points of which is real, or inflation-adjusted. The less volatile, but no less important M3 is up 5 percent over the last 13 weeks, matching the pace last seen a year ago. On a 12-month basis, M3 has stopped shrinking for the first time since last autumn. For its part, MZM's 13-week growth rate is an astronomical 23 percent-faster, even, than in 1998. Its year-to-year growth rate is back up to the 12 percent last seen in late summer 1999. What does this mean for you, the serious investor? Good news, as far as I am concerned. Here's why. Whenever the Fed increases the money supply, consumers and business find that it is easier to borrow and spend. This, of course, boosts economic activity-which may be already underway, judging by February's stronger-than-expected employment report. See full story. Once the stock market's thirst is slaked, it, too, will respond. So take your eyes off interest rates for a moment and check out the punchbowl. It is filled to the brim and waiting for you to partake. Dr. Irwin Kellner is chief economist for CBS.MarketWatch.com and is the Weller professor of economics at Hofstra University.