The DIY Economist

 **FIGURE 1: Fed Funds Target Rate (%) - The Economist** [As i mentioned yesterday](http://diyeconomist.com/wordpress/2007/09/17/waiting-for-the-fed/), a rate change by the Fed would probably have little effect on the economy. But now everyone - in the figurative sense - in response to a 0.5 percent rate cut is acting like the Fed [cured ...

It's that time of year again - when *yet another* highly anticipated move by the Fed comes at a [critical juncture](http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$SPX&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p48434087443) of a market that's been steading ascending in [volatility](http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$vix&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p48434087443). Why am I not surprised? Anyways, Barry Ritholtz cites the views of Doug Kass, a perma-bear in what could be called a period of "exuberant optimism" ...

It's everywhere these days; Apple just lowered the price of it's (overly?) hyped portable communications device, the iPhone, by 200$, angering hordes of Apple zealots. Coincidentally, its stock fell from a peak of 145 to a hair above 130 in a matter of days. What are people thinking about this? Why did they do this? Turley ...

So I've been reading Noise, by Bart Kosko. Short summary? Great topic, baaaad writing. Mr. Kosko should not have published such an .. *ahem* … poorly edited book. Go blame USC. Anyways. From what I can glean, as I'm not EE, stochastic resonance is essentially an anomalous effect that is achieved by adding a so-called optimal ...

So while looking at the most recent yield curve (partially inverted), I thought of the time when I tried to convince my parents to lock in a 5-year CD around August. So they went to the bank, where they were greeted by a bank ad for (of course) those 3-month or 6-month CD's. In fact, the ...