Greenspan talks, and media still reacts

Hal Morris, writing on his Grumpy Editor blog, notes that former Fed chief Alan Greenspan continues to attract media attention when he speaks, affecting the stock market, even though he’s no longer in charge of the economy.

Morris wrote, “And, as usual, Wall Street analysts and others take note of his melancholy utterings.  The Dow Jones industrials closed yesterday down 172.65, or 1.3%, to 13167.20.

“Meanwhile, for balance in the quotes department, media have bypassed current Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.

“A front page Wall Street Journal article on the ‘mortgage mess’ Saturday, based on a Friday interview, included Greenspan’s input, along with a half-column illustration of his smiling face (right on the fold).  He came up with a typical Greenspanism: ‘The financial erosion will come to an end when the prices of homes and equity in homes stabilize, probably not before.’

“Also on Friday, he told a National Public Radio audience that the odds of a recession are ‘clearly rising’ and ‘we’re getting close to stall speed’ in economic growth.”

Read more here.