Ben Bernanke is, undoubtedly, a rock star in the financial world.
If I had the inclination, I would actually check to see if he was ever Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year”, but that’s really not all that important. It takes alot for me to make an extra click or two.
Usually rock stars made public speeches when they’re giving their version of legal events or as part of a court ordered community service program.
Although I haven’t checked the newswires this morning, I think Bernanke is misdemeanor free.
Fortunately, the felony charges were dropped when the nany proved to be an unwilling witness.
What is important as the whole world is talking about the first ever press conference held by a sitting Chairman of the Federal Reserve is that he not act like a rock star.
It’s hard to believe that it was nearly 50 years ago that John Lennon let out with his infamous words.
Given Bernanke’s lineage, it would be newsworthy if he were to proclaim himself to be “Bigger than Jesus”.
I don’t think that he’s likely to do that, but you never know what happens once you get on stage. Strange things do happen, but don’t count on it.
In the meantime, we have two days before the big event. In my eyes, that’s a much bigger event than the upcoming royal nuptials.
I still remember being at work and making my rounds watching ceiling mounted televisions with everyone transfixed to the screen when the previous generation’s royal couple made it legal.
How’d that one work out? Better than Arthur Burns.
Although the New York Times seems to believe that American’s think this one will be a yawner, I’m not quite as certain.
My own wife, who will be in the very early stages of jet-lag will be in California and she is planning to watch the festivities, although she is by no means a royal watcher.
I’ve tried to get her to be a stock watcher for years and even that hasn’t really interested her, but it’s good to know that while she is awake at some ungodly hour in California, I too will be sitting in front of the television, albeit watching the market’s pre-open news.
Somehow that will unite us through the cable ether.
Come Friday morning, I’m hoping that the market won’t still be abuzz from some Bernanke slip. That would really be a Black Swan event and would take some of the wedding’s mojo.
Since I’m nearly fully hedged at this point, although still waiting on Goldman Sachs, British Petroleum and some other opportunities, I’m hoping for a nice market drop.
It’s fairly likely that he’ll face more germane and probing questions than typically posed by the grandstanding morons front and center at periodic congressional hearings.
Maybe when faced with real questions Bernanke may borrow from the obtuse phrasebook of his predecessor.
Instead of being bigger than Jesus, he may utter something alluding to the fact that he may be of a proportion that is at once on scale, but clearly larger than any deity put forth by civilizations old and new, while accepting the human nature of the duopoly between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury.
I hope that Bernanke lets slip that he’s been embezzling trillions from the Treasury and invested the money into the Libyan movie industry, just as long as the markets recover within 2-3 weeks.
Again, not likely, but these rock stars do wierd things.
Have you seen the tabloid pictures of Bernanke’s trashed hotel suite?