{"id":337585,"date":"2010-02-18T16:56:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-18T21:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/of-course-this-rate-hike-is-meaningful-just-look-at-the-markets-2010-2"},"modified":"2010-02-18T16:56:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-18T21:56:00","slug":"of-course-this-rate-hike-is-meaningful-just-look-at-the-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/337585","title":{"rendered":"Of Course This Rate Hike Is Meaningful, Just Look At The Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re about to bombarded with plenty of talk about whether hiking the discount rate<\/a> is meaningful. Here’s one compelling argument<\/a> that it’s a total smokescreen, and a way for Bernanke to look hawkish without actually doing anything. The gist is that since banks aren’t borrowing directly from the Fed right now it doesn’t matter.<\/p>\n

That’s fine, but perception is a huge game when it comes to the Fed, especially this<\/em> Fed, which remains in a straightjacket in terms of what it can really do without hurting the economy and causing a painful dollar spike.<\/p>\n

But here’s the thing, you don’t have to take our word for it.<\/p>\n

The market is slumping after hours, and the dollar is spiking. That means it matters. End of story.<\/p>\n

Update<\/strong>: Oh, and here’s gold. Wonder if gold traders think the move is meaningful.<\/p>\n

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