Wed 25 Oct 2006
Follow up: Fed holds as expected
Posted by Steve under Money
The FOMC statement was mostly unchanged from the previous meeting. The Fed did acknowledge the effect the (drastically!) cooling housing market was having on the economy.
All in all, I think it was a bit more dovish than most were expecting. Dollar bulls certainly didn’t seem to like it. I think it was about right. I still don’t think we have seen the full effect of the housing market slowdown and expect the economy to continue to weaken in the coming months. Most economists don’t see a recession ahead. While I’m inclined to agree with them, I think the market may be underestimating the odds of one.

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke (above) discusses
his most recent fishing trip with reporters.

October 27th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
In REI we are glad to see interest rates holding along with housing prices dropping. I have to agree with you- does the market really ever anticipate a recession properly?
October 28th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Well, as someone who would like to buy a house in L.A. one day, I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing prices come down…A LOT!