Choosing Words Carefully

There are few folks on Earth that choose their words more carefully than the Fed. Indeed, interpreting their verbiage is virtually a science. So when I read that the Fed told GOP senators that it does not have the intention "or the authority" to bailout Europe, you have to wonder exactly what they mean by that. Seriously, hundreds of millions of support by the Fed over the past few years directly went to assist European financial institutions. Did they lack the "authority" for that? Is support for their financial institutions not support for Europe? Does the Fed not intend to support European financial institutions if things take a dive, which odds are good they will eventually do in some countries? And are the GOP Senators asking the right questions?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/markets/bernanke-to-discuss-european-financial-crisis-with-republican-senators/2011/12/14/gIQAoZbEuO_story.html

So what else can I say - China real estate prices in decline (as the government there has pushed to do), old news. The shine wearing off the recent EU pact for a cure with bond rates climbing again (new news but hardly unexpected). Politicians kissing babies and otherwise in NH to get votes, an age old game.

Disclosures: None