Business

The market has a way of getting what it wants. And right now, it surely does not want Yellen to hike this week. Will she nevertheless, as is widely expected? Or will the buoyant markets force yet another delay, ultimately resulting in a 'none-and-done'?

There's no denying that the Fed policies fueled this stock bull market. The liquidity of QE 1 to 4 propelled the markets to new highs with every shot. At the completion of the QE tapering in October 2014, the S&P 500 hovered around the 2,000 mark. Today, we're trading at exactly the same levels. No QE, no advance.

Submitted by Richard Ebeling via EpicTimes.com,

We are living in a time that can only be considered monetary chaos. The U.S. Federal Reserve has manipulated key interest rates down to practically zero for the last six years, and expanded the money supply in the banking system by $4 trillion dollars over that time. And with the true mentality of the monetary central planner, the Fed Board of Governors are now planning to manipulate key interest rates in an upward direction that they deem desirable.

We have been watching the market's "sudden panic" about the implosion in the junk bond space with bemused detachment because, for the better part of the past year, we have been warning that this is about to take place. Here is a modest sample of articles from the past year commenting on the dangers from junk:

Oil has dropped to its lowest price since 2009. With the Fed meeting this week to decide on a rate hike and the geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, what might we expect in the near term?

Today...

The Yellen effect pic.twitter.com/ogQgxINN2r

— Morris Cabrioli (@insidegame) December 14, 2015

 Today's focus was on credit markets - rightly - as the contagion spread to IG markets... 

But it started when China devalued the Yuan yet again...for the 6th day in a row - and in growing size - PBOC fixed the Yuan weaker to its weakest since July 2011