FOMC Gets A Solid D For Mid-Term Grade
As
I prepared for our weekly television show, "Doctor J & the Traders"
(streamed on the web on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. on www.WebFN.com),
I was thinking about how far behind the curve Alan Greenspan and the balance
of the FOMC really are. I mean, how else do they justify reacting so slowly
to what seems so obvious to the rest of us?
Then I got to thinking about the phrase “behind the curve†and what that
really means. In fact, the expression “behind the curve†refers to the
statistical bell-shaped curve that is used to plot the normal probability
distribution of events:
Being
“behind the curve†would therefore mean that someone must have been
lacking in certain skills or knowledge by being in the lower 20% range on
the bell or curve. Correspondingly, someone ahead of the curve would be in
the upper 20% range on the bell curve. If we were grading on that bell
curve, one might infer that those ahead of the curve would be due B’s and, on
the extreme, A’s, while those that found themselves behind the curve, would
be due lower grades such as D’s and even F’s.
Unfortunately, our beloved Fed chairman and his cronies have elected to
remain behind the curve in terms of their response to economic events that
are shaping our future. They could have made this 50-basis-point move weeks
ago, but instead elected to make the Street wait while data continually
suggests action, not patience, is required. Since Mr. Greenspan’s testimony
before Congress earlier this month, the Dow is down 11%. If this were the
final, I think it’s pretty clear that Wall Street would grade the Fed’s
performance for the past year a solid D, if they’re feeling generous!
Bearish $ Weighted Put / Call Ratios:
|
Symbol |
Call
Volume |
Put
Volume |
$W
Call Vol |
$W
Put Vol |
| DJX | 8,633 | 47,210 | 12,727 | 244,084 |
| MSFT | 51,881 | 70,527 | 132,530 | 637,493 |
(1010WallStreet.com
has licensed the use of Hamzei Analytics proprietary options analytics)