From: joe_f@verizon.net   
      
   In today's news:   
      
     To hear Ben Bernanke talk about the housing slump, you might think   
     the Federal Reserve is still in need of a one-arm economist.   
      
     In a speech to a banking conference in Chicago on Thursday, the   
     Federal Reserve chairman said "the cooling of the housing market is   
     an important source of this slowdown" in the economy.   
      
     In particular, he said, new curbs by lenders on mortgages for   
     less-creditworthy home buyers, called subprime mortgages, "are   
     expected to be a source of some restraint on home purchases and   
     residential investment in coming quarters."   
      
     On the other hand, Bernanke said, "we believe the effect of the   
     troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will   
     likely be limited, and we do not expect significant spillovers from   
     the subprime market to the rest of the economy or the financial   
     system."   
      
     As a result, financial newswires wrote apparently conflicting   
     headlines, including "Bernanke says subprime woes to hurt housing   
     market," and "U.S. economy to mostly dodge mortgage woes."   
      
     Traders in stocks, bonds and currencies found no direction in his   
     remarks, leaving markets little-changed for the day.   
      
     This apparent doublespeak -- call it nuance or equivocation -- was   
     commonplace under Bernanke's predecessor, Alan Greenspan.   
      
     Indeed, in a presentation Thursday to executives in Atlanta,   
     Greenspan said opaque answers to straightforward questions were part   
     of the job, because he couldn't say "no comment" and he didn't want   
     markets to overreact.   
      
     "What tends to happen is your syntax collapses," he said, according   
     to a report of his appearance by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.   
      
     "All of a sudden, you are mumbling. It often works. I created a new   
     language which we now call Fedspeak. Unless you are expert at it,   
     you can't tell that I didn't say anything."   
      
   And now he can speak freely.   
   --   
   ---  Joe Fineman    joe_f@verizon.net   
      
   ||:  Angels are no saints.  :||   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)