Greenspan, Fed Bailed Out Marts In September
By John Crudelle, New York Post -- April 2, 2002

WITH the economy looking extraordinarily weak back in January and Alan Greenspan just about out of room to cut interest rates, the Federal Reserve considered a variety of "unconventional" emergency measures.

Recently-released comments from the policy-making meeting that month show the Fed had what might seem to be a largely academic discussion about the other options available to it. This is an amazing revelation.

I've been giving hints about this sort of thing since September, but I believe the Fed's discussions were much more than just theoretical. I think the Central Bank actually stepped in and saved the stock market.

With the Fed taking an active role in the market, just about anything could happen - both good and bad.

                         The Fed's intervention in stocks is, to put it mildly, earth
                         shaking in a free-market economy that prides itself for
                         having equities that move up and down on their merits
                         alone.

                         Let me give credit where it is due. While I was on vacation
                         last week the Financial Times of London quoted a Fed
                         official who didn't want to be named as saying that one
                         of the extraordinary measures considered in January
                         was "buying U.S. equities." The FT quoted the official as
                         saying the Fed could "theoretically buy anything to
                         pump money into the system" including "state and local
                         debt, real estate and gold mines - any asset."

                         Including stocks.

                         There are lots of things wrong with the stock market
                         right now.

                         Despite a wobbly market these past two years, equity
                         prices are still much too high based on current earnings.
                         And the valuation of stocks isn't going to get any more
                         attractive when disappointing first quarter profits are
                         announced by companies in a few weeks.

                         But all of these things pale in comparison with the
                         impact of the Fed getting involved in the stock market.
                         Forget everything else - this is the most important thing
                         you need to consider right now if you are thinking of
                         getting into the stock market.

                         I've been writing about the Fed's involvement in the
                         stock market for some time. And I have some first-hand
                         knowledge that I can now add to the FT report.

                         I had a conversation with a very worried Fed official
                         back on Sept. 17, the day the stock markets reopened in
                         the U.S. following the Trade Center attacks. He was
                         bothered by the market's apparent lack of interest in
                         the Fed's rate cut that morning.

                         Our discussion moved on to the fact that the Fed could
                         easily intervene in the market by purchasing stock index
                         futures contracts. That's an inexpensive and apparently
                         foolproof way of rigging the market without leaving a
                         trace.

                         During that telephone conversation I pointed out that
                         just such a plan was proposed during another market
                         disturbance back in 1989 by Robert Heller, who had just
                         left his position as Fed governor.

                         Heller's suggestion, which was published in The Wall
                         Street Journal, seemed at the time like a trial balloon to
                         see how Wall Street would react to such an extreme
                         solution.

                         The good news was that nobody appeared to be bothered
                         by Heller's proposal even though it would turn the
                         free-market concept on its ear.

                         About midday on Sept 17 I faxed the Heller article to my
                         friend at the Fed.

                         There's no way of proving that the Central Bank took
                         any extraordinary action that day. But a stock market
                         that looked down for the count suddenly perked up.

                         And since then, equities have staged a good enough rally
                         so that Wall Street is already gloating about the new bull
                         market.

                         Is this good or bad news?

                         You'd think that the Fed providing a safety net for the
                         market would be extremely good news for investors. In
                         fact, it would be logical to assume that big losses in
                         stocks would be impossible if the Fed was aggressive in
                         the market.

                         But there are other things to consider.

                         The Fed will probably only come to the market's aid if
                         collapsing stock prices are endangering the nation's
                         economy and national security. This would give the
                         federal government an excuse to violate the premises of
                         the market economy. But there are a couple other
                         worries.

                         One is Japan tried this and it didn't work.

                         And then there's the big worry: The stock market in the
                         U.S. has worked very well without government
                         interference. In fact, our markets are so much the envy
                         of the world that foreign companies are anxious to list
                         their stocks on our exchanges.

                         If the FT and my suspicions are correct, Washington is
                         getting into dangerous territory.

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