Friends
Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke continued, during his testimony today, to attempt to convince market participants that tapering (he never used the word today) is not tightening or changing Fed monetary policy. He seems, at least for today, to have successfully calmed trader’s nerves and the markets were relatively quiet. The most entertaining moment of the testimony is when a congressman asked Dr. Bernanke whether his friend should refinance his home right now. Dr. Bernanke explained that he was not a qualified financial advisor. Say no more.
On the economic front, the Housing Starts number was disappointing, once again sending mixed signals in terms of possible economic improvement. Multi-family seemed to be the culprit, but it had been the strong area for some time.
As for stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18 points to close at 15,470. The S&P 500 was up 4 points to finish the day at 1680. Gold was down $14 to trade at $1275 per ounce, while oil was up $.53 to trade at $106.53 per barrel WTI.
As traders have absorbed Dr. Bernanke’s testimony and a wave of earnings releases this week, trading, to this point, has been very quiet. We went into the week looking for some volatility, but so far everything seems to be calm. I’m not complaining.
Have a nice evening everyone.
