History of Ineffectual Federal Reserve Meddling in the Markets

It's interesting to look at the Federal Reserve's handy list of its market meddling during 2008 and compare it with an S&P 500 chart from the same time period.

The Federal Reserve's announcements of new "measures" and "initiatives" to address "liquidity problems" tended to cause short-lived relief rallies, only to have the market roll over when investors recognized the deteriorating fundamentals.

The only important conclusion about all the "QE2" blather and speculation is that it represents an important tell about the true state of the economy. If this recovery could stand on its own merits, further "stimulus" and "easing" would not be necessary.