Mr. Economy now has a serious chronic condition with limited prospects of a full cure. He might continue to live for a prolonged period but in an impaired no- or low-growth state. The threat of a sudden life threatening seizure cannot be discounted. Constant management will be needed.
The number of medical advisers involved and variety of drugs — stimulus, austerity, quantitative easing, witchcraft — is unhelpful. While doing nothing is politically and socially impossible, the treatments may not be helping. As French playwright Moliere noted: “More men die of their remedies than of their illnesses.”
—-Satyajit Das, author of “Extreme Money” via Marketwatch
I thought I could introduce a little culture to this blog by slipping in a quotation from Moliere. Let’s hope that QE3 does not fall into the “dangerous remedy” category. A wide variety of outcomes is possible here. It will be important, I think, to pay close attention to relative strength as the market tries to sort out what is most likely.
