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…Today’s stock market is down around 10% over the past two weeks but where is the law that says the stock market isn’t allowed to fall? Capitalism is all about risk and reward. There are supposed to be periods of decline. To the Fed, however, a 10% correction…is so catastrophic…that they couldn’t even wait two more weeks for their regularly scheduled meeting. They had to take immediate action to prop up the stock market…@A Financial Site For Sore Eyes & Inquisitive Minds
Here’s why that matters:
- In the crash of 1987 when the Fed cut interest rates, its benchmark rate was 7.25%, so a half-percent cut was not especially significant.
- In 2000 when the U.S. economy entered recession (and the stock market started to fall from its peak), the Fed’s benchmark rate was 6.5% so they had plenty of room to cut rates.
- In 2007 when the U.S. economy entered recession yet again (and the stock market started to fall from its peak), the Fed’s benchmark rate was 5.25% – still plenty of room to cut rates.
- As of yesterday morning, the Fed’s benchmark interest was just 1.75% so a 0.5% cut is pretty huge. Do the math – they cut interest rates by nearly a third, down to 1.25%. This gives them VERY little room to cut rates further when the U.S. economy enters recession, virtually guaranteeing that interest rates in the Land of the Free will go negative.
Editor’s Note: The original article by Simon Black has been edited ([ ]) and abridged (…) above for the sake of clarity and brevity. The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor. Also note that this complete paragraph must be included in any re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.
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Thank you, very interesting note. Post gave it some thought .