Ben Bernanke’s Mortgage “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” –Proverb “This side appears to be brown.” –Joke about what a CPA will answer, when asked what color a horse standing 50 feet away in a pasture is. When clients ask me where I think home prices are headed, my standard Realtor answer is,...Read More
“If you’re going to take a bath . . . fill the tub.” –old business(?) advice Under previous Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, the Fed quite clearly conducted monetary policy so as to support the stock market (many commentators — myself included — think they overdid it; see, “2013 Person of the...Read More
“For Better” . . . For Now “The person, group, idea or object that for better or for worse . . . has done the most to influence the events of the year.” –Time magazine’s criteria for selecting its “Person of the Year.” My selection for 2013 person of the year is Federal Reserve Chair...Read More
Vertiginous Stocks “Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.” —JFK quoting a made-up telegram from his father, Joseph Kennedy, after he first won election to Congress. Here’s a thought: overdoing the stimulus — and rocketing stocks higher — can backfire, blunting (or worse)...Read More
Proof that Stocks Are “Bubble-icious” “The degree to which this market is dependent on continued Fed easing was demonstrated just last week when rumors of a Jon Hilsenrath article on the Fed’s exit strategy knocked the market down nearly 100 points in a matter of minutes Thursday afternoon. Hilsenrath is known — or at least...Read More
March 7, 2013: Dow Jones Hits (Another) Record High “Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.” –JFK quoting a made-up telegram from his father, Joseph Kennedy, after he first won election to Congress. “The Federal Reserve’s role is to take away the punch bowl just when the party gets going.”...Read More
