Fed struggles to avoid another inter-meeting cut
Commentary: FOMC is trying to keep what dignity it can
By MarketWatch
Last update: 9:47 a.m. EST March 7, 2008
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Just minutes before a truly depressing jobs report Friday, the Federal Reserve said it is trying to add liquidity to the banking system.
The move briefly inspired futures, but the damage from the job loss report was too great, and futures quickly turned tail and headed sharply lower. Chatter about another inter-meeting cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve's open markets committee has been swirling through the markets, especially with new pressures on some high-profile hedge funds.
Carlyle Capital Corp. a unit of the Carlyle Group, saw its shares suspended after it failed to meet margin calls. Even if the Fed doesn't act before its regular meeting later this month, there's now a market perception that the Fed could cut by as much as a full percentage point when it does gather.
The Fed's big cuts in January, as well as comments from Fed Chief Ben Bernanke since then, have already made it clear that the FOMC is worried about the U.S. economy -- really worried.
But what the economy and banking systems really need is something the Fed can't give them, because the problem isn't a shortage of cash, it's a shortage of trust.
And making it less expensive to lose money isn't really going to help anybody, especially when such moves only serve to boost inflation.
Time, not money, is what the markets need to work out their problems. And there's no way for the Fed to fast forward through this mess.
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