Blogs

The Fed Open Market Committee is meeting today and tomorrow to set monetary policy going forward. The big question is whether or not the Fed will decide to “taper” its monthly purchases of $85 billion in Treasury bonds and mortgage securities, which have driven stocks and bonds higher over the last few years. The decision depends largely on the Fed’s view of the economy, so they tell us.

No one knows for sure which way the Fed will go, but either way it will have a big impact on the markets. Both stocks and bonds have moved lower ahead of the meeting, and I expect a big move one way or the other depending on tomorrow’s announcement of the Fed’s decision on quantitative easing (“QE”).

Following that discussion, we’ll look at the annual report from the Social Security Trustees. As usual, the Trustees warn that Social Security is going broke – what else is new? But there is a growing movement to raise the early retirement age from 62 to 64. Will it happen? I doubt it.

Finally, I will update you on the growing list of Obama scandals and how the buck never seems to stop with the president. The result is that fewer and fewer Americans trust our government.

US GDP has been slowly ramping up, only to fall back and then try once more to bring us back to the '90s. Stocks markets are volatile but seemingly moving higher in most of the developed world, except for Japan, where the current 20% drop comes hard on the heels of one of their frequent "end of the bear market forever" rallies of almost 90% – how many of those have we seen over the last 24 years? Europe is mostly in recession or Muddling Through with very slow growth. I continue to read from those who know China intimately that there is a real crisis brewing there. And over the last four weeks I have highlighted how desperate the situation is in Japan.

In addition to our own, there is another conference I normally go to every spring; but sadly, I missed it this year. Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates indulges me and lets me attend the annual Research Affiliates Advisory Panel he conducts at some exclusive location (usually but not always) in Southern California, in close proximity to one or more fabulous gourmet establishments. And he is an oenophile of the first rank, a pastime that at one time in my life was a huge attraction. I now just live vicariously when he orders wine.