A Long Season Of Wall Street Weirdness
One of the reasons stocks have been so erratic is Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s attempt to cool off the market by raising short-term interest rates. This set off an odd pattern in which stocks would swoon on the prospect of an increase, soar when the increase was only a quarter of a point, then swoon again, presumably in contemplation of the next increase. The topper was Greenspan’s Delphic utterances last month that left lots of people nervous and confused....