If people don't understand the difference between "might not" and "won't" then they're looking for trouble.


You're right AG didn't say "no unconvential measures" verbatim. The problem is that he sounds like an antique oracle - especially now that he feels he has to attempt soothing stock and bond investors alike.

Speculators are trying their best to decode the message and however the whole thing comes over counts, not just what was actually said. To wit, this http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030829.wbgreen0829/BNStory/Business/ article points out that it was the failure to repeat the May message that caused havoc:


The Fed first mentioned the possibility of a sustained fall in inflation in its formal statement after its May meeting, and then Mr. Greenspan and other Fed officials talked about the possibility of using unconventional methods to combat the problem. The bond market reacted with a huge rally that pushed the benchmark 10-year Treasury note down to a more than four-decade low of 3.1 per cent.

However, when the Fed at its June meeting cut its key interest rate by only a quarter-point, instead of the half-point that investors had hoped for, and made no mention of unconventional methods to lower interest rates further, bond prices began tumbling, sending various long-term interest rates surging.


Ahhh, they increasingly get into a position of "mission impossible".