The Fed should stop its interest-rate games

Rather than try to figure out which placebo will best assuage the delicate psychologies of day-traders, the Federal Reserve Board should announce it anticipates a long, long pause in any interest-rate manipulation.

In case you missed it, the Fed cut the federal funds rate Wednesday by 25 basis points, so it will now float between 2% and 2.25%. Nervous market analysts already were obsessing about what the Fed’s next move would be. The Dow Jones average dropped 333.75 points as investors sulked that the Fed didn’t promise even easier credit for the near future. As I write, though, the manic-depressives of the market are already rebounding, with the market back up 300 points less than 24 hours later.