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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (7370)	8/18/2001 3:15:47 AM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 74559

logophilia.com Greenspeak, noun The coded and careful language employed by U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan. "Harking back to his infamous 'irrational exuberance' speech, Greenspan again said stock prices may be 'excessive.' But he added the best way to deal with a possible bubble is to pursue price stability. In typical Greenspeak, he said price stability can 'induce investors to take on more risk and drive asset prices to unsustainable levels.' " —Ed Carson, "Philly Fed says higher input prices aren't passed on," Investor's Business Daily, June 18, 1999 Posted on April 12, 2000

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (7370)	8/18/2001 3:15:51 AM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

prudentbear.com From the Q&A session of Alan Greenspan’s July 24th Testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing Affairs Committee: Colorado Senator Wayne Allard: "Chairman Greenspan, I think you would agree with me that housing has played a significant role in our economy historically, and it continues to play a significant role today. And these are not necessarily high-tech jobs. And I wondered if you could elaborate -- and you didn’t mention that -- make any comment in your remarks about housing. I just wondered if you could maybe elaborate on the trends for housing prices, spending on residential structures, and mortgage interest rates. Chairman Greenspan: "Senator, I think one of the things that’s occurring in this country is the evolution of housing into a very sophisticated, complex industry, in the sense that we not only have got standard home building aspects of homeownership-related activities, but we're also beginning to find that as homeownership rises and as the market value of homes continues to rise, even in a period when stock prices are falling, we’re observing a rather remarkable employment of that so-called home equity wealth in all sorts of household decisions." Indiana Senator Evan Bayh: "…with regard to Senator Allard’s question, my final question, with regard to home equity. This has been a good thing for the American economy and temporarily helpful in addressing the consumer issue and the current sluggishness. My question to you is, since it has historically been a significant percentage of household savings, is this a worrisome long-term trend, people drawing down their home equity substantially?" Chairman Greenspan: "…If unrealized capital gains were declining, which is, of course, what happens when you extract equity from homes, yes, it would be a problem. But there is no evidence of that. Indeed, despite the fact of the significant extraction of home equity gains, the level of unrealized capital gains in homes continues to rise apace. So it's not a depleting asset, if I may put it that way. It could be, but fortunately it is not."

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (7370)	8/18/2001 3:15:55 AM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 74559

chortler.com Parlez-vous Greenspeak? Chortler.com translates some of the text used by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan Greenspan: Significant downturn in aggregate growth. English: I'm having a bad hair day. Greenspan: Irrational exuberance. English: Party on dudes! Greenspan: This unpredictable rending of confidence is one reason that recessions are so difficult to forecast. English: If Bush slaps my back again, its so long rate cut. Greenspan: Signs of softness still patently in evidence. English: Some of you senators sure need to go on a diet. Greenspan: Cough. English: Buy! Greenspan: Sneeze. English: Sell! Greenspan: A round of inventory rebalancing appears to be in progress. English: Stock up on the potato chips -- we're in for a long recession. Greenspan: The hastening of the adjustment to emerging imbalances is generally beneficial. English: Okay, so Bush isn't all that bright, get over it. Greenspan: But even when decision makers are only somewhat more risk averse, a process of retrenchment can occur. English: It's about time for my nap. Greenspan: The same forces that have been boosting growth in structural productivity seem also to have accelerated the process of cyclical adjustment. English: What goes up must come down. Greenspan: Crucial to the assessment of the outlook and the understanding of recent policy actions is the role of technological change and productivity in shaping near-term cyclical forces. English: Hey, this Blackberry thing is kind of cool.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (7370)	8/18/2001 10:22:53 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

I agree with you about Greenspan, Mq. He's extremely intelligent and very articulate. For many people who try to "get" what Greenspan is saying, the problem is that they don't have the background and they are used to being spoon-fed information by happy-talking TV announcers. He used big words, and long sentences, with clarifying clauses, and he speaks very cautiously. He's very wary of saying things outright because he knows that all over the world, his testimony is being parsed anxiously by the people really in control of the US economy and the global economy, too, people like you and me, bankers, brokers, traders, financial analysts, politicians. He speaks in code, yes, Greenspeech is a good way of putting it, but it's perfectly comprehensible to me. I am used to listening for the hidden meaning in what people say when they speak formally and cautiously. It's very unusual for a lawyer or a judge or a witness to be down to earth and forthright in court - they're always sort of hiding the ball. Greenspan speaks judiciously, guarding every word. He's also frequently somewhat bored when he answers politicians' questions because they don't "get" what he said, they're used to talking to other politicians who all use a different kind of code to signal what they mean, and they keep asking the same question over and over again, trying to get an answer they like better. Many times, when what he is saying doesn't seem to be answering the question, it's not. He's gotten tired of playing and sort of wanders off on a tangent to throw the questioner off.