In a speech before the National Association of Business Economics in Washington on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted that the global financial markets crisis is likely to restrain the economy well into next year and signaled that the Fed may be getting ready to cut interest rates.
But he believes the unprecedented steps taken to have the Treasury Department and the Fed intervene in financial markets were done in time to prevent more expensive and permanent damage to the nation's leading financial institutions.
Then he said this;
"Overall, the combination of the incoming data and recent financial developments suggests that the outlook for economic growth has worsened and that the downside risks to growth have increased,"
And the markets ended the day 500+ points down.
The primary factor in market movement is ‘confidence’ and ‘confidence’ has been lost. Everyone is trying to sell everything and the market is going straight down because of it. The financial media, Wall Street and the government have time and time again told us that everything will be fine for the entire year. Well, it looks like they all lied and no longer are trusted. Their credibility is gone. It don’t matter anymore what they say. Nobody trusts anyone in the financial media of the government.
Congress and the administration should focus on creating a strategy to restore public confidence, because without it the market will continue to sink. But, who are we kidding? The trillions of bad loans in the financial system need to clear the system before we can begin to look for viable businesses with business models that can succeed in the new economy and then get behind them for future growth.