Tech Stocks Rally As Fed Rolls Out Heavy Artillery

Tech stocks - and indeed the entire U.S. stock market - is jumping this afternoon on the news that the Federal Reserve has decided to bring out its most powerful weaponry in the face of an increasingly nasty recession. The Fed set a target on the federal funds rate of zero to 0.25 percent, which would suggest there isn’t any more cutting to do from here. Here’s annotated version of the statement today from the Federal Open Market Committee: Since the Committee’s last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment, and industrial production have declined. Perceptive, aren’t they? Financial markets remain quite strained and credit conditions tight. I just looked at my 401(k) yesterday, and “strained” is not the word I would use. Overall, the outlook for economic activity has weakened further. Ya think? Meanwhile, inflationary pressures have diminished appreciably.  ... (link)