James Bullard Helps Stocks, Destroys Dollar

The stock market is heading higher today, as part of a wider global equity rally. Earlier, James Bullard, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, and a member of the Fed board, mentioned that he thought that the economic stimulus measure of buying mortgage-backed securities should continue into next year — moving beyond the first quarter.

As one might imagine, investors latched onto this news and took it as a cue to sell the dollar. After seeing gains for the dollar last week, Bullard’s remarks prompted a round of profit taking. Additionally, the comments also helped stocks. Confident that the Fed is willing to continue propping up Wall Street, investors are in a buying mood, sending the stock market higher an hour and a half after opening. The gains do appear to be slowing, though, as day traders swoop in to take their profits from earlier.

However, this week is expected to be a good one for stocks. Investors are hoping that the holiday shopping season, which kicks off with Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving, will help provide some fuel for the fire. With a short trading week, and the news so far good, it looks as though this week, at least, will be a good one for the stock market. We’ll see if it holds if Black Friday turns out to be a disappointment.

Image source: Fletcher6 via Wikimedia Commons

Post from: EveryJoe

James Bullard Helps Stocks, Destroys Dollar