While former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the notion of the “Greenspan put” was a “joke, ” current Fed chief Janet Yellen isn’t laughing; she seems serious about raising rates for the first time since 2006, according to Bloomberg. She is committed to looking at the long-term economic picture, even if this might cause some volatility in the stock market. The notion of the Greenspan put, some cushioning in case things go south, like a put option protects against a freefall in share prices, may be a thing of the past.
Alan Greenspan seems to dislike the term “Greenspan put, ” and said it has always been Fed policy to add temporary liquidity to ease shaky financial conditions. However, some economists argue that the big banks have more of a safety net than they had in the past. William C Dudley, President of the New York Fed told Bloomberg, “Let me be clear, there is no Fed put, because financial-market conditions affect economic activity only slowly over time. This suggests we should look through short-term volatility.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
The Fed believes the banks are in a stronger position than they were during Greenspan’s 18 years at the Federal Reserve. In fact, there could be an argument that his increasing liquidity might have had a direct or indirect contribution to the dot.com bubble that popped in 2001.