There’s not much argument that Ben Bernanke has been one of the more active Federal Reserve Board Chairmen. The “cash injections”, covert buys of Treasury Notes, and some rather strange occurrences in the metals markets over the past year, has everyone outside the CNBC cheerleaders wondering if this stock market rally is real. A look at the straight line gain in the S&P 500 since March is reminiscent of the kind of charts convicted hustler Bernie Madeoff used to produce.
The tip-off that the recovery may not be as certain as claimed is found in crude oil prices. Crude oil started its predictable fall in August, but then a strange thing happened; instead of the typical post Labor Day crash, it went back up.
With gold over $1,000/oz., and Treasury bonds selling at auction at a brisk pace, it would seem that everybody is buying everything; Let the good times roll. Except, it can all be explained by a weakening currency.
Rising prices are only the result of reduced buying power of the dollar. If that’s not inflation, then what is?
