In a note this morning David Rosenberg notes the recent flip flop from the Federal Reserve. Just last week things were moving along swimmingly, but yesterday’s FOMC statement implied an economy that was in turmoil and necessary of intervention:
It was just over a week ago that Ben Bernanke told us that “rising demand from households and businesses should help sustain growth … growth in real consumer spending seems likely to pick up in coming quarters from its recent modest pace, supported by gains in income and improving credit conditions.”
Meanwhile, yesterday’s FOMC press statement read like a retraction: “Household spending is increasing gradually, but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit……the pace of economic recovery is likely to be more modest in the near term than had been anticipated.”
Does Mr. Bernanke have any idea what is going on? He sounds more like someone flipping penny stocks than someone who is steering the aircraft carrier of all aircraft carriers….
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.