Financial Matters

Anybody who was surprised that the Federal Reserve Board decided to raise its benchmark interest rate this week probably wasn't paying attention. The U.S. economy is humming along, the stock market is booming and the unemployment rate has fallen faster than anybody expected. The incoming administration has promised lower taxes and a stimulative $550 billion infrastructure investment. The question on the minds of most observers is: what were they waiting for?

There has been much discussion over the last month and half about Bear Markets, Sell-offs, the Global economy and a possible Recession. The vast majority of analysts believe we are not in a recession (neither the U.S., China, nor Europe) and that most economic indicators seem to point to the fact that overall the U.S. economy is strong. In fact, most analysts indicate that there is only a 20 -30% chance of a recession in the making for the U.S. In addition, trucking and retail industries are showing signs of stabilization indicating that things did not get worse in January. The factors that are seemingly the 'cause' of this downturn are angst surrounding global growth, politics, oil and Euro banking woes and each day one or another have been blamed for the sell-off during this downturn. However, none of them should be a catalyst for the down market indicating a true disconnect between reality and what investors in the market are thinking. It is important to note that when investors are buying in huge rallies it's traditionally thought the market has created a herd mentality however, when they are selling in bulk during downturns there is an assumption they are right.