(As of 7:24 am PST)
US stocks are inching higher as investors contemplate
generally positive overseas trade with remarks on risk by Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke in Chicago this morning. As we
write this, Bernanke has moved into the Q&A portion of his presentation at
a banking conference in Chicago, where the central bank chairman has for the
most part spoken out on the Fed’s processes of monitoring risk. Bernanke noted that the Fed is keeping an eye
on “excessive risk-taking” as investors reach for yield in this low interest
rate environment. Referring mostly to
the credit market, Bernanke said the Fed is monitoring the relationship between
asset prices and fundamentals and the risks associated with certain assets if
another crisis ensued. Bernanke was not
expected to comment on the Fed’s current bond-buying program (known as QE3),
but with low inflation and a stagnant unemployment number it’s not expected
that the Fed will unwind its easy money policies anytime soon. In international news, Asian markets rallied
with the Japanese Nikkei closing nearly 3% higher on the day. Japanese stocks surged as the US dollar
climbed above the psychologically important 100-yen level. The strengthening dollar hit the price of
gold, with gold losing $44/oz., or roughly 2.9%. Oil prices were also down over 2%. For the most part it’s been a quiet week, but
expect a pickup in activity next week as several reports on retail sales,
manufacturing, and housing are due out.
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