Ben Bernanke

S&P 500 Target 2013

by

I’ll go ahead and put my neck on the chopping block now.  I’ve never had a target before on the S&P 500 or Dow because I never saw much point in the exercise.  Unless you were trading in futures or a passive index investor, what’s the point, right?  I liked to think I am investing in companies and business prospects not broad unknowable market forces.  The last twelve months have been trying though.  It seems that the risk on risk off trade has been the place to be.  Most stock pickers have underperformed the market.  Why is that?  Even notable … Read more

Differentiating Between An Irrational Market Or Strong Bull Market Trend?

by

Guest post by: Kirk Differentiating Between An Irrational Market Or Strong Bull Market Trend? These past two weeks have been tough as an options trader. Differentiating between trading an a possibly irrational market or bull market trend is sometimes very difficult to assess. We all know that the stock market can push us to extremes and then, just when we “give up” and “give in” the turn happens. Timing is really everything. Blow-off Top or Pull-Back? Most traders I talk to are in one of two schools of thought right now. Either you think this is the best shorting opportunity for the … Read more

U.S. Stocks Fall as Bernanke Fails to Offer New Plans for Growth

by

Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, after the biggest gain in two weeks for benchmark gauges, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke failed to offer any specific new plans to bolster growth in the world’s largest economy. Financial and industrial shares had the biggest losses in the S&P 500 within 10 groups. Bank of America Corp. and Boeing Co. fell at least 2.9 percent, pacing declines in companies most-tied to the economy. Dollar General Corp. slumped 5.4 percent after saying that holders will sell 25 million shares. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.8 percent to 1,189.39 … Read more

‘s Jackson Hole Fed Meeting Remarks

by

For one weekend every year, the economic world turns its watchful eyes away from New York and Washington and to Jackson Hole, Wyo. This weekend, the Kansas City Federal Reserve will again host the annual Federal Reserve conference in the valley just outside Yellowstone National Park. Recent economic troubles have brought intense scrutiny to the meeting, and markets will be watching Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Friday morning speech particularly closely for the barest hint of future policy moves. Full article available @: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Markets-Await-Bernankes-usnews-3591226210.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Bernanke Models Prove Faulty as Fed Forecasts Succumb to Downward Revision

by

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his Federal Reserve colleagues are preparing to meet next week as two-year Treasury yields at a record low signal a U.S. economy on the knife’s edge between growth and contraction. Guiding their assessment of the outlook for the world’s largest economy will be forecasts contained in the so-called Teal Book, a confidential staff report with a blue-green cover. Policy makers’ confidence in those forecasts may be tempered as the course of the expansion has confounded their expectations. Of 12 Fed staff forecasts since the beginning of 2010, seven have been downward revisions to the near-term … Read more

Call us paranoid

by

Call us paranoid but we still see some of that “deer in the headlights” look from Chairman Bernanke in recent public appearances.  After all why shouldn’t he be concerned? Unemployment appears to be intractable, the national deficit is in arithmetic realms never before seen and the remedy for its correction in the hands of Congress who seem more like a squabbling couple in divorce court than elected representatives.  Furthermore the housing bubble collapse appears to have been replaced by an even bigger bubble, sovereign nation debt defaults.  Buying more house than you can afford appears to be a relatively trivial … Read more

‘s Press Conference, No Rate Hike Until July 2012?

by

Yesterday was a historic day. The Federal Reserve gave their first press conference, ever. Below is the actual full press conference so you can watch for yourselves, in full. What are your thoughts on how Ben handled the issues at hand? Barclays Capital looks does not look for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates until the summer of 2012 and says the loose monetary policy in the meantime should remain supportive for gold. Prices rose after a Wednesday FOMC statement that said rates will remain low for an “extended time,” with gold hitting a fresh record overnight and silver also … Read more