Of Fed Heads and Rat-Holes
Christopher Galakoutis
Thursday, September 2 2010 1:37 PM

The Federal Reserve announced earlier this month that economic conditions were “likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.” As stated in a prior column the Fed follows the market when setting interest rates, and economic conditions are what drive market rates.

All the Fed is saying with that statement is that as long as economic conditions are anemic, it will hold its funds rate at effectively zero, since it has no other choice...

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Central Banks: Heads They Win, Tails We Lose
Christopher Galakoutis
Tuesday, August 24 2010 1:42 PM

Back in mid-April, I warned readers of an imminent resumption of the deflationary wave. With a little luck on my side it arrived less than a week later when, on April 26, the market recorded its highs for the year. While they certainly don't ring bells at market turns, the signals emanating from the market’s internals and general macroeconomic indicators were deafening as far as I was concerned.

Since that time we've seen a mini-replay of the 2008-2009 crash. Stocks and commodities h...

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Mid-Summer Stock Rally Sending False Signals
Christopher Galakoutis
Monday, August 23 2010 10:59 AM

Stock markets around the world have rallied strongly since the start of July, snapping losing streaks for the year, and stepping back from the edge of the cliff after marching there to the beat of the Greek debt crisis.

The Chinese stock m...

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Unemployment: The Elephant in the Room
Christopher Galakoutis
Monday, August 16 2010 12:04 PM

In the lead-up to the vote on the massive $787 Billion stimulus bill of February, 2009, the White House was touting the 8 per cent unemployment level as a number well within reach, given that the intent of the stimulus was to create jobs and promo...

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Are Central Banks Really in Control?
Christopher Galakoutis
Monday, August 2 2010 9:26 PM

It continues to amaze how market participants wait with bated breath the comments of central bankers, particularly the Federal Reserve and specifically those of current chairman Ben Bernanke.

In addition they clamor about the federal funds...

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