Tuesday, January 22, 2008

U.S. Fed Cuts Rates By 75 Basis Points

Today U.S. Fed cut the interest rates by 0.75% in order to calm financial markets. However, today's morning trading session in Asia saw massive blood bath with stocks plummeting anything between 15 to 50% in a single trading session. This massive wealth erosion in unprecedented in nature and has shattered the market participants. Interesting thing to be noted that the root problem of this mammoth correction in stocks is U.S. economy but DOW Jones hasn't corrected that sharply! It means fund houses, financial institutions, investment banks, PE funds, Pension Funds, Hedge funds based in the U.S. who are sulking with huge losses incurred in U.S. subprime crisis are selling their profitable assets like stocks in Asia, Europe in order to make up losses. Also with lack of depth in emerging economies like India, Brasil , Russsia, Philippines, Malaysia, Chile, is always dangerous in a crisis like situation, and they tend to fall with great vigour and intensity. Having said that, some sanity must return in the global financial markets after today's steep fall as valuations have become reasonable and selloff was extremely steep and very concentrated in time frame. Volatility will still rule the game.