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To: John Mansfield who wrote (27175)	1/27/1999 3:38:00 PM
From: Timothy Liu	Respond to of 116762

Lots of Y2K believer on that site. 51.6% will store 3 month food and water????? Tim

To: John Mansfield who wrote (27175)	1/27/1999 3:54:00 PM
From: IngotWeTrust	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116762

(Crudele:) BUBBLE, BUBBLE, GREENSPAN'S IN TROUBLE (NY Post 1/25/99) By JOHN CRUDELE ALAN Greenspan has lost what little nerve he had. The chairman of the Federal Reserve came under intense pressure a few years back when he dared suggest that the stock market was gripped with "irrational exuberance." At the same time Greenspan's crew - an assortment of lesser Fed officials who usually just nod obediently when the boss speaks - broke the customary silence of that organization by uttering the word "bubble" in the same sentence as the phrase "stock market." Their voices all sounded a lot like Greenspan's. Everyone went crazy. What right did Greenspan, the guy who presides over monetary policy and not Wall Street, have to comment on stock prices? The Fed chairman, I'm told, was not only taken to the Administration's woodshed but he was given a time-out in the corner. Mind your own business, Greenspan was told. So it was pretty ironic that Wall Street rushed to Greenspan as it encountered trouble last year when stock prices fell 20 percent and, to an even greater extent, losses in risky foreign trades were piling up. Then Wall Street wanted Greenspan to mind their business again. And the chairman dutifully complied, cutting interest rates three times in rapid succession despite what he now describes as already wonderful economic conditions. One of those rate cuts came in a surprise Thursday afternoon move that drove home the point that Greenspan really, really wanted the financial markets to stop the nonsense. Well, last week Greenspan came out of hiding and was again speaking about the stock market. Another comment equal to his powerful "irrational exuberance" quote? Not even close. In his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, Greenspan delicately handled the issue of record stock prices by saying that the recent rebound in the market "would appear to envision substantially greater growth of profits than has been experienced of late." *That's the marble-mouthed Greenspan I love.* What's that mean? He means investors are too exuberant for the economic facts of life. Corporate earnings aren't keeping up with stock prices. Investors have gotten "irrationally exuberant" again. Greenspan has been called the second most powerful man in America next to Bill Clinton. But Greenspan comes first in another contest - he's in a lot more trouble than the president. Americans don't seem particularly moved by the Constitutional issues now being debated before Congress. But economics do move the people. And economics today is just a fancy way of saying "how high's the Dow today." And the stock market's performance is entirely Alan Greenspan's doing. And he will be blamed if stock prices suddenly collapse. For years the Fed under Greenspan has pumped enormous amounts of money into the nation's monetary system. Irresponsible amounts, some would say. There was always an excuse - the budget deficit, a failing financial institution, the need to keep stock prices high so the economy wouldn't slip. But the end result was a stock market bubble that Greenspan tried to control not with his actions but by his words. The Fed hasn't raised interest rates in years, despite the fact that asset inflation - in the form of rising stock prices - was obviously dangerous. Greenspan didn't take the punch bowl away. And now, as before, he's trying to talk irrationally drunk investors into not taking another drink. It just doesn't work that way. If Greenspan wants the stock market to calm down he has to act and not just speak. And Greenspan knows it. "A flattening of stock prices would likely slow the growth of spending, and a decline in equity values, especially a severe one, could lead to a considerable weakening of consumer demand," Greenspan told the House. Alan Greenspan sure has himself in a fix. But at least his case of lockjaw is cured. ** Mah commentary: (Gawd, I love this Crudele dude!) Only a politician** like Greenspan could take 2 words: "irrational exuberance" and use 13 words to repeat himself: the stockmarket's current valuations[sic] "would appear to envision substantially greater growth of profits than has been experienced of late."