the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, the Dow Jones Industrial average dropped below 29,400 midday Friday to its lowest point in nearly two years. Since the Fed started raising interest rates in March, the index has lost more than 13.7 percent of its value.
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Other indices have followed suit. The S&P 500 fell below its previous 2022 low point, hitting 3,667 on Friday, down more than 15 percent since March and almost 23 percent on the year.
Markets seem to be looking for a bottom as the Federal Reserve wages and epic battle to fight 40-year-high inflation . Wall Street seems to be finally coming to terms with the reality of the highest inflation rates since the 1970’s leave visions of an economic soft landing a distant memory .
The burst in inflation seemed have caught both Wall Street and policy makers in Washington by surprise . After a slow and muddled start , the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates to 3.25 percent from 0 percent in March. This has had the effect of making many goods and services more expensive, in an effort to get inflation under control. Old school market watchers continue to criticize both the Fed and Washington for being very late to the inflation fighting party.
Consumer inflation came down just slightly over the summer, falling to 8.3 percent in August from 8.5 percent in July and 9.1 percent in June. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile categories of energy and food, still rose more than half a percentage point from July to August. An 8.3 percent inflation rate means prices are doubling every 8.67 years .
The Feds inflation fight is coming at the price of a slowing economy and potentially even driving it into a deeper recession.
Love the picture
Thanks Joe. Keep up the great work
BloodBath