For months now, the hype surrounding the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) two-day meetings has been far less about a possible change to the Federal funds rates, than it has been about the short statement that follows.

Today’s conclusion certainly continues that trend. While we weren’t expecting much of a change in the FOMC’s statement from their September release, we were in fact keeping our eyes peeled for any subtle changes to how the Fed addressed economic conditions. Their stance that the current climate is “likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period” remained unchanged, and the target for the Fed funds rate remains between 0 and 1/4 percent.

Read the rest of this entry »

Conditions Improving

The tone of the statement following the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) April 28-29 meeting is, if anything, less pessimistic than it has been in previous months. Despite the economy’s continued decline, the “pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slower,” reported the committee.

As has been the case with these meetings since the end of last year, the rate cut (or lack thereof) has no longer been the top story. Rather, it has been the implementation or expansion of new Federal initiatives designed to improve market conditions. The fact that no new or expanding program has been announced, signals that conditions have improved enough that additional government intervention is not warranted at least at the moment.

Read the rest of this entry »