Poor Uncle Ben

In a nearly unprecedented move the Federal Reserve early Tuesday cut the Federal discount rate by .75 of a point, the largest single rate cut in 20 years.

The move did not come at one of the Fed's regularly scheduled meetings but rather overnight in response to some truly dreadful news from foreign stock exchanges over the last two days. Foreign markets followed Monday's steep declines by losing as much as nine percent of the value of some Asian exchanges although those in Europe were near positive territory by the close. There was speculation early this morning that overnight numbers indicated the U.S. market might open down as much as 575 points.

Well as I mentioned in my previous articles, the word on Wall Street is that Uncle
Ben is taking the blunt end of blame. He is becoming a target and being called
the "Federal Pushover." Although it' true recession is unavoidable, he truly has
a tough road ahead of him and may continue to be easily persuaded to make more drastic moves. He is actually getting the reputation for being "Easily Bullied."