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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (3332)	4/1/2004 1:48:30 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Useless Greenspan Speech federalreserve.gov Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke Financial education and Jump$tart survey At the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and Federal Reserve Board joint news conference, Washington, D.C. April 1, 2004 Good morning and welcome to the Board Room. A little more than two weeks ago, the Federal Open Market Committee gathered at this table and debated the future course of monetary policy. Its statement afterward was transmitted instantly around the globe to millions of people. Journalists, investors and others, understandably, thought of the topics discussed around this table on that day as important. I wouldn't contradict that assumption, but there is a sense in which our topic today--the financial education of our young people--is even more important. Our economy can become ever more prosperous and our financial system ever more sophisticated, but if our young people lack the knowledge with which to make wise choices--for their present and their future--they will not be able to share in the benefits of the advancing economy and financial system. I say this not only from the perspective of a Federal Reserve policymaker, but as a former economics professor, a former member of the Montgomery Township, New Jersey, school board, and, most importantly, as the current parent of two young adults. And, I know many others join me in the conviction that financial education is crucial. This month has been designated by the Senate as Financial Literacy Month. The Federal Reserve is involved with financial education on many fronts. Allow me to mention just a few of our "products" and "services." Reserve Banks around the country conduct workshops for teachers. The Board joined with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond last summer in sponsoring one here, "Teaching Teens About Money." We also seek to provide information to adults. By now, I hope many of you have seen our public service announcement, launched last year. The theme is "There's a Lot to Learn About Money" and it stars Chairman Greenspan. Look for our "There's a Lot to Learn About Money" (192 KB PDF) pamphlet, in English and Spanish, on the Federal Reserve education web site (www.FederalReserveEducation.org). It's filled with tips for taking charge of your personal finances. Finally, research is an important component of financial education. If we are to succeed in spreading financial knowledge, educators and others must empirically analyze knowledge gaps and the results of their efforts to fill them. Fortunately, this body of research is growing. To track it, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Consumer and Economic Development Research and Information Center (CEDRIC) has created an online repository for financial education and literacy research. The survey assessing high school students' financial knowledge that the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is releasing today is a very useful contribution to that research. Let me now turn to Dara Duguay, the coalition's executive director, to give you a status report on the financial literacy movement in this country.

To: mishedlo who wrote (3332)	4/1/2004 1:51:24 PM
From: NOW	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Simply UFB! More of the old: "how can we know if its a bubble? Until it bursts we just cant be sure. It looks like one i agree but not too big of one. lets see if it doesnt just correct on its own.... " Apparently price stability is NOT their job....

To: mishedlo who wrote (3332)	4/1/2004 1:59:04 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Contrary Investor contraryinvestor.com Home Is The Heart (Of The Matter) We ask you quite importantly and quite sincerely, just where would our economy be today had it not been for household real estate inflation over the last four years? You probably do not want to know the answer. All of the data in the tables above point to the same conclusion. The leveraging of continuously inflating real estate values over the last four years has been absolutely crucial to the economy. Whether Greenspan will ever admit it or not, this is exactly how the Fed "has successfully dealt with the aftermath of the stock market bubble". All of these numbers come directly from the Fed. The very same folks who simply cannot be ignorant of their meaning. The problem, of course, being just what will or can the Fed attempt to inflate next if the residential real estate market runs into price turbulence at such a presently high altitude? Especially given that the labor market appears a bit under the weather and wage and salary growth is not even keeping pace with lowball estimates of understated headline inflation. As of the end of 4Q 2003, household real estate assets totaled approximately $15.1 trillion. Household financial assets climbed to $34.3 trillion during the same period, but of this equities account for only about $8 trillion. The bottom line is that residential real estate is almost twice as meaningful to households in terms of total household assets as are stock holdings specifically. Although a number of stock market followers may be concerned about an equity crash or severe downturn ahead, maybe what they should really be worried about is US residential real estate values. In terms of total household well being, emotional stability and forward perceptions, there is no other singular household asset class that means as much in dollar terms. Not even pension entitlements. Get the picture?