by Rick Ackerman
RickAckerman.com
Maybe the Fed should step up the pace of its press releases, since a little mumbo-jumbo from Yellen & Co. can always be counted on to stir up the algorithmic juices of the ‘buy’ programs that have ruled securities markets for most of the last seven years. The supposed thinking machines evidently can’t stop themselves from gobbling up shares whenever there’s a hint of easing in the air. A cynic might suspect that the Fed created room for a potent easing ‘surprise’ when it announced that tightening ‘might’ be coming in June. Their calculation is rooted in the fact that almost no one believes the Fed is serious about raising rates significantly. Thus, the threat of doing so has less impact on stocks than a well-timed flourish of dovish hocus-pocus. Memo to bears who trade: Turn off your PC monitor and TV the next time anyone from the central bank is scheduled to speak.