– the BBC gets in its response to the US Federal Bank’s rate cut.
“One analyst said the Fed was “obviously panicked” by the threat of recession.
“Unfortunately they have no power to reverse what in my opinion is the worst post-war recession,” said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in New York.”
Doubtless this article [actually, as I write it has been; initially it ended with Mr Metz’s quote] will be updated, but the BBC has a strange kind of spitefulness ready for such measures- lest anyone should get the idea that the US financial system cares or is competent or anything bizarre like that. The final comment struck me as especially odd, given that only a month ago, Alan Greenspan put the risk of recession at 50%.
The BBC also say that the move is a “complete surprise”, which, er, well, surprised me having read this call for action early today. I therefore, unlike the BBC, was not surprised. Larry Kudlow also says “Much of this is panic over a U.S. recession threat that has yet to clearly materialize.“
In this world of multiple sources we can see the BBC bias in sharp relief.
Yes, I posted in the main blog about the arsehole on bBC News 24 about 10 minutes ago with the smug grim on his face and his arms folded.
We need to save the tax payers 3.5 billion a year to help the economy.
Anyone got any ideas where we can get that money from?
bbc: position 1: nationalization likely
position 2: afford minimal oxygen of publicity to naysayers/others
agenda: !viva la revolucion!
The action of cutting is not a suprise. The act of a 3/4 cut is suprising.
Panic, what a joke, I saw it as decisive action to deal with the panic in the stock markets and it seemed to do its job yesterday, long term lets see, but a panic action was very wide of the mark indeed.
They have a different attitude to some very bad signs in the British economy or on the scale of the Northern Rock fiasco. When Labour is in charge, everything is fine and nothing to worry about!
my post above took forever to appear, and is not complete:
(probably too late, rhetorically…)
bbc position 3: we have no position
It should come as no surprise that the Beeb is now looking for every excuse to blame the UKs troubles on the US. However, we should perhaps be grateful that in the world of BBC Newspeak they have at least admitted now that there seems to be a problem of sorts with the economy.
Wiser heads would point out that the UK economy is heading for disaster, and that the fact that the US economy is too is only an indication that the same idiotic economic policy was followed by two dimwits either side of the Atlantic acting in unison.
The coming economic tsunami will almost certainly bring defeat to Labour. There will be tears from the BBC I’m sure.
Absolutely typical that someone comes up with an ancient jibe about Bolsheviks but can’t even spell the word. Meanwhile, poor old Martin bangs on about “arseholes” and “bastards”, but doesn’t realize how much he is influencing people in the exact opposite direction to the one the blog owners would like him to.
By their friends shall ye know them. Priceless.
‘One analyst said’ did he?
The BBC news department prides itself on its ‘analysis’. I’m pleased for them. A sense of self-worth is always good, but I’m not sure I’d be so assured if I knew that my good opinions about myself were sponsored by the government, and anyone who failed to subscribe to them would be subject to a fine and a criminal record.
Look – every fule kno if Gordon the Great Leader had cut interest rates the BBC would have reported it as taking ‘decisive, pre-emptive action’. As it was George Bush’s administration it was branded as ‘panic’. I noticed the gloomy tone in beeboid voices this morning as they had to admit that the footsie has now risen substantially following the interest rate cut.
Seeing as you mentioned “Fair and Balanced”, guess what the first analyst quoted by Fox News said:
“The Fed is responding to a panic” under a headline of
“Fed Slices Interest Rate by 0.75%, Possible Sign of Panic”
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/article/fed-slices-rate-075-possible-sign-panic_445564_2.html
Bloomberg: Fed’s Panicked Rate Cut Puts Spotlight on BOJ;
FT: Soros accuses Fed of panic cut;
Thomson Investment Management News: Fed rate cut smacks of panic, says F&C’s Ted Scott;
Citywire.co.uk: The Fed rate cut – panic is the word;
Finance Markets, UK: Fed in rate cut panic;
Baltimore Sun: Fed caves to Wall Street in moment of panic;
Khaleej Times: Fed chief “panicked” with rate cut – papers;
ifaonline.co.uk: Fed makes panic 0.75% cut;
The Age: Federal Reserve hits panic button to lift the gloom.
Paul S. Thank you for your comment.
Undoubtedly there was panic on Tuesday. The question is whether it is reasonable to assert in a main report minutes following the action of rate reduction that the Fed panicked, rather than responded to a panic- a very different thing.
As my link suggested (and I could give others), the Fed’s move could also be seen as a response to panic in the markets. Check out this article, for instance.
The BBC chose to lead the way in accusing the Fed of panic through their correspondent’s analysis. Maybe some of the sources you link took their lead from them.
Well done for your research abilities, but you should be a little more searching than to quote Citywire blogs for instance, if you want to prove your point (but you can’t). You should also ensure that the sources you quote are genuinely problematic for my argument (for instance they don’t just suggest panic, or quote a pundit, or come from opinion columns). As things stand, through researching your little list, you’ve reinforced my sense that I was right. Thanks for that.
Ed – happy to add to the debate!
You clearly still believe that the Beeb was far too quick to assert that the Fed ‘panicked’. And you are happy to stand by your position that it was unacceptable reporting having looked at other reports taking a similar line about the rate cut. Fair enough. But I think my quotes illustrate that the Beeb were not actually a lone voice in talking about the Fed ‘panicking’.
Interesting that you only highlight Citywire as being a weak source. I presume the others are OK? The quotation that particularly struck me when I read it was the one from a named analyst at F&C (a company that I find provides some excellent analysis). It seems to me to support the line the BBC took.
Obviously I wouldn’t expect anyone reading the B-BBC blog to give the Beeb the benefit of the doubt but I thought it was worth adding the quotes into the mix.
Cheers,
Paul
“Obviously I wouldn’t expect anyone reading the B-BBC blog to give the Beeb the benefit of the doubt” – why not? There are plenty of drones here who do nothing else.
The rest of us got tired of doing so after being shat on by the BBC for decades.