Wednesday, Fed Day

The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged, but the markets know that. What the markets are looking for is any hint that the language has changed. Even one word that most of us would miss or dismiss could be the catalyst the market is looking for to go in one direction or another.

In the past the Fed has been very willing to step in with some tidbit to halt a market's slide, like the slide we have seen the last few days, thus the Fed is known as the "Plunge Protection Team". So today is a bit of a wild card, but as far as I can see with 3C, there is not much in the way of high hopes. The markets do not look like they are i a holding pattern, they look bad and this may be part of the market's ploy of playing possum to get the Fed to move when they'd otherwise maintain course, even if it is just a few words changed in the policy statement.

"The Fed Effect"- There is a tendency for the market to react or overreact to a Fed statement the day it comes out, within a few days the market seems to have slept on it and goes in the complete opposite direction. I don't know what's in store as Fed policy announcements are not as easy to spot with 3C as are government reports and earnings. However, if you see a wild move after the Fed decision, don't be so fast to react to it, give it  day or two.

Either way, we'll know around 2:15 we'll know