Whats in Greenspans Briefcase?
The Federal Reserve is famous for being tight-lipped about its potential monetary policy moves. In desperate attempts to predict what Fed policy-makers are thinking, market-watchers occasionally resort to rather odd measures. For example, on mornings when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets to discuss the economy and make decisions regarding monetary policy, the media often focus on the image of Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan carrying his briefcase into the front door of the Federal Reserve Board building. In fact, –>www.CNNfn.com updates its “Eyes on the Fed” section with commentary and pictures of the chairman’s briefcase on the mornings of FOMC meetings at –>www.cnnfn.com/news/specials/eyes_on_fed. If the briefcase is bulging, so the speculation goes, it is full of evidence that has been gathered by Greenspan to persuade other members of the FOMC to vote for a higher interest rate target. If the briefcase is thin, so the theory goes, then markets can relax because no chang
