Today's Key Market News - The Fed's View

(Stocks in article: Ford (NYSE: F), Nissan (NASDAQ: NSANY), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), State Street (NYSE: STT), Angiotech (NASDAQ: ANPI), Cyberonics (NASDAQ: CYBX), Henry Schein (NASDAQ: HSIC), Double Hull Tankers (NYSE: DHT))

U.S. markets have opened higher this morning, on a bounce back after yesterday's sharp decline on light volume. The S&P 500 Index tested last week's low, but held. Much is weighing on Ben Bernanke's scheduled podium presence in Jackson Hole on Friday. Traders are hoping he will express a different current Fed view than that expressed by the rearview mirror in yesterday's FOMC meeting minutes release. The minutes were taken from the regular August 7th meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The information sharing ignored new data that is available but remained shelved, that being of the Fed's August 16 emergency conference call. Recall, that's when the Fed acted to help liquidity, by cutting the discount rate 50 basis points. Traders expect a somewhat different message to show up in those minutes, but unfortunately, the robotic Fed saw no need to change its schedule and present information reflective of the current situation and supportive to the markets.

CNBC today raised an issue that we feel very strongly about here at Wall Street Greek. The question was raised, "should the Fed act based on forecasts or based on the situation presented by current data?" Bernanke's critics, and we are certainly one, label him as an academic and believe that he is behind the eight ball now in his comprehension of the gravity of the real world situation. Whether he's an academic or not plays no role here. What matters is if the man is a strong enough leader, and intelligent enough to see through the cloud of chaos, to make a levelheaded decision and take effective action decisively. The market needs to be confident in the Fed chief and his group of governors, and at the moment, it is certainly less than so.

Of course the Fed should act based on forecasts, and if the Fed is not qualified enough to do so, then we better get a new Fed. If you sit around and wait for fire to take hold before you believe it exists, you stand much less chance of putting that fire out! Today's market is dynamic, and we need a leader who can comprehend the dramatic changes that are taking place, some of which we've seen before and some of which are unique to this age.

Market-Moving News

• CNN Money: U.S. Woes Slam Asian Stocks


• Financial Times: German Consumer Confidence Slides


• CNN Money: Europe Turns Higher


• Bloomberg: Cheyne Capital May Liquidity Commercial Paper Unit


• Mortgage Bankers Association: Weekly Mortgage Applications Drop


• CNBC: Oil Rises on Trader Expectation for Draw


• CNN Money: State Street (NYSE: STT) Sinks on Credit Turmoil


• Bloomberg: Fed Underestimated Gravity of Situation


• CNBC: Pricey Home Market Gets Tighter


• Yahoo! Earnings Calendar


• AP/Yahoo!: Daimler/Chrysler Reports 14% Profit Decline


• AP/Yahoo!: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ANPI) Gets FDA Nod


• AP/Yahoo!: Cyberonics (NASDAQ: CYBX) Q1 Loss Narrows


• AP/Yahoo!: Henry Schein (NASDAQ: HSIC) Buys U.K. Vet Supplier


• AP/Yahoo!: Double Hull Tankers (NYSE: DHT) Earnings Rise


• AP/Yahoo!: Nissan (NASDAQ: NSANY) to Make Trucks in India


• AP/Yahoo!: Ford (NYSE: F) Investing in Spanish Plant


• AP/Yahoo!: Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) Plans Engine Plant in China


• BBC: Greek PM Pledges Speedy Aid


• CNN: Ferry and/or Cruise Ship Threat


• BBC: Bhutto, She Just Won't Go Away


• Breitbart: Bush Says Iranian Nukes Means Second Holocaust


• Economist: The Geopolitical Week Ahead


• Iran Daily: Tales from the Dark Side




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