LM;; Fed’s QE2 is doomed to fail Sell bonds now Paul B. Farrell (2010-11-02)

Sell bonds now, Fed’s QE2 is doomed to fail

Commentary: Buffett, Gross, Grantham, Faber, Stiglitz agree: Bernanke plan a disaster

Paul B. Farrell, (2010-11-02 MarketWatch)

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Warning, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s foolish gamble to stimulate the economy will backfire, triggering a new double-dip recession. Bernanke is “medding” too much in the economy, say Marc Faber, Bill Gross, Jeremy Grantham, Joseph Stiglitz and others.

The Fed is making the same kind of mistakes Japan made that resulted in its 20-year recession. The Washington Post says Larry Mayer, a former Fed governor, estimates that to work it would take QE2 bond purchases of “more than $5 trillion …10 times what analysts are expecting.”

How the Fed could disappoint markets

A quantitative-easing program that's too small, say under $300 billion, or not open-ended is unlikely to inspire investors, according to Pimco's Tony Crescenzi, who says the Fed also has to avoid stoking inflation expectations. Laura Mandaro reports.

Bernanke’s plan is designed to fail. And, unfortunately, that will make life far more dangerous for American investors, consumers, taxpayers and voters.

“I’m ultrabearish on everything, but I believe you’ll be better off owning shares than government bonds,” said Hong Kong economist Marc Faber at a recent forum in Seoul. He sees a repeat of dot-com-bubble insanity today. Faber publishes the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.

And Warren Buffett agrees, warning that anyone buying bonds now is “making a mistake.” Don’t buy. Sell.

Here’s how Bloomberg News reported Faber’s warning: “Global markets are heading for an ‘important turning point’ with interest rates beginning to rise within about three months and the U.S. dollar gaining strength … Instead of interest rates going down, they could start to go up. Instead of the dollar being weak, it could strengthen.”

Is Faber reliable? You bet: One week before Black Monday 1987 Faber warned investors to dump stocks. Then in early 2006 he warned of a “correction coming.” Again in mid-2007 Faber said U.S. stocks were “entering a bear market.” After that, Wall Street lost over half of America’s retirement money in its subprime disaster … and Wall Street’s about to do it again. So when Faber says sell bonds, buy stocks, please listen.

After Bernanke’s bond bubble pops, a Japan-style 20-year recession?

Lately Bernanke’s acting like an egomaniacal politician, a savior trying to manipulate the economy in the wake of the failures of Congress, Obama and the GOP Tea Party of No-No to get results. That’s not the Fed’s job, and still Bernanke’s pulling out all the stops, repurchasing government bonds, printing too much money, flooding the currency markets. Fed zombies hungry for quantitative easing.

The New York Times warns that the Fed is making bad decisions like the ones that led to Japan’s 20-year recession. No wonder savvy investors are getting nervous, worried Bernanke’s pushing us the wrong way, making matters worse, throwing jet fuel on fears of another credit bubble/bust cycle worse than the 2008 meltdown.

All so predictable: This has been building since said he wanted to buy back more bonds. The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig warned earlier this month of a “Bond Bubble,” noting that while many are blaming “small investors for taking big bets,” the truths is, “it isn’t Joe Schmoe, it’s Uncle Sam.”

Nobel economist Stiglitz predicts it will fail: “Easy money won’t work … the Fed risks fueling a destructive bubble.”

It’s an old game: Since the 2008 meltdown the Fed has been Wall Street’s secret conspirator, stealing from Main Street (by keeping money market interest rates low) and giving that cheap money to a failing Wall Street (so their quant-speculators can keep gambling on derivatives, to justify paying themselves mega-bonuses).

Warning, this is all part of the Fed’s ongoing Ponzi scheme to bail Wall Street out of the destructive subprime decisions that sank the economy in 2008. Bernanke’s latest Ponzi scheme will soon backfire, this time bringing down the economy again, further reducing the retirement savings of America’s 95 million investors.