Tuesday, August 08, 2006

The Pause that Refreshes!

The Fed paused, which was widely expected, but left the door open for further rate increases in the future.  I almost never have anything good to say about the Fed, but this seems to me to be the right thing to do.  Bond markets responded by doing absolutely nothing, which is an indication of a good call. 

In one sense, it's good for us because it leaves things where they currently are, which is pretty advantageous historically speaking.  On the other hand, it's a pain in the neck, because now the market is somewhat released from Fed worries and will be looking much more closely at economic data.  That means I have to look at it, too.

But I guess that’s the job.