Dear Diary,
Well, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting I was so psyched on last night happened today, and I got just what I expected: The old song about the target fed funds rate staying near zero for a long time. That was no shocker; the economy is still in the dumpster, and it’s tough to push short-term interest rates below zero. So I’d compare that “gift” to corporate America to getting a pair of socks for your birthday. It’s useful, but you get it pretty much every time, so it’s not a huge surprise.
The other thing the Fed delivered was a promise that it was ready to engage in additional quantitative easing to try to bring down longer-term interest rates and further juice the economy. That got me excited for a minute, but my joy was short-lived. Additional quantitative easing at this point would be like getting a Super Soaker for your birthday. It’s exciting and will provide for some brief outbursts of joy, but it’s pretty obvious right away that the fun won’t last.
So I think that explains my afternoon giant spike upward this afternoon; that was when the Fed announced its decision. And I got my kicks out of that but ended the day up a dinky seven points. But hey, I’m still up this month and this week, so no big deal. Plus, those other schlub indices, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, were slightly lower today. You’re looking at the big winner among the three major averages! King of the junkyard, is what I say on days like today.
Trying to keep it positive over here,
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
