The Great Taper Caper

Today, 2 pm: possible clues to the big market mystery revolving around the word “taper”:

“In the last month alone, the words ‘federal reserve’ and some form of the word ‘taper’ appeared in 1,923 news articles in the Nexis database (the number was 12 in the same period last year)” (link is here).

“The taper caper,” as all stock market sleuths know, is the mystery of whether/when Ben Bernanke will taper off the rate of bond buying, down from the current $85 billion a month. (See my last rejected post.) Investors, traders, and especially trading robots who run the market, are on hair trigger alert for clues from Bernanke today. “And the word on everyone’s lips on Wall Street all morning will be ‘taper‘”. With hints Ben will be departing in 2014, the drama is raised a notch, but the band of (mostly) day traders here at this NYC meet-up are playing it cool…. Tune in later.*

*2:30 pm: Big applause erupts here and doubles of Elba Grease all around!**

**3:15pm Oh-oh…things are good enough to start t-a-a-pering soon, but not right away…oh like it’s a big surprise…topsy turvey coming…buy bonds?

3:20: Mayo departs for furniture shopping at the NY Design Center…***

***5pm: Mayo checks market: Oy, (major plummet!) see what I mean (about topsy turvey)? Glad I bought those tapered bookcases (in ebony macasa). At least they offer something concrete!

Now tomorrow, it will be said the robots overreacted…