Scoreboard: Fed conjecture

It’s hard to get a sense of how markets might travel this week. I think investors are still dealing with the disappointment of the non-taper and trying to work out when it might actually take place. The Federal Reserve is certainly taking a lot of flak over the decision – not because it’s well overdue, but because many feel they were misled. I can’t say I agree with that view though and I find myself in the unusual position of defending the Fed. To be frank, I think it was very vague in the lead up, there was a lot of indecision expressed in the Fed rhetoric and Bernanke had outlined quite clearly under what conditions it wouldn’t taper. How it came to be that September was a done deal I don’t know, but in my opinion, it had nothing to do with anything the Fed said. Not really helping, St Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Friday that the decision was ‘borderline’ and that the taper could start in October.