Greetings!, I was asked as a final question in my recent KITCO interview recorded prior to the conclusion of the FOMC meeting if I had any final thoughts. I simply said traders needed to fasten their seat belts for what will probably a very volatile roller coaster ride. Traders today held on, hopefully with seat belts tightly fastened, as we witnessed yet another global meltdown in the equities and commodities markets. Attempting to make some sense and convey insight into today's market activity I searched for quotes that would capture current market sentiment. I found it was not the absence of notable quotes that hit me, but the sheer abundance of them that made it hard to choose the best. Credit Suisse's Fixed Income Research unit: "We seem to have entered the last days of the euro as we currently know it. That doesn't make a break-up very likely, but it does mean some extraordinary things will almost certainly need to happen - probably by mid-January - to prevent the progressive closure of all the euro zone sovereign bond markets, potentially accompanied by escalating runs on even the strongest banks." Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup: "Time is running out fast. I think we have maybe a few months - it could be weeks, it could be days - before there is a material risk of a fundamentally unnecessary default by a country like Spain or Italy which would be a financial catastrophe dragging the European banking system and North America with it." David Rosenberg, a senior economist at Gluskin Sheff in Toronto: "Lenders are finding it difficult to finance their day-to-day operations with short-term funding. This is a lot like 2008 but with more twists." Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "At this point I'd guess soaring rates on Italian debt leading to a gigantic bank run, both because of solvency fears about Italian banks given a default and because of fear that Italy will end up leaving the euro. This then leads to emergency bank closings, and once that happens, a decision to drop the euro and install the new lira. Next stop, France." For those of you who have been with me for the last couple of years you know I take every decision I make personally. I wonder if Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke feels the same way. Had he known the response globally to his actions and words, would he have done anything different yesterday? Lastly, could he have done anything differently that would have avoided today's global melt down? As always, wishing you good trading Executive Producer | 
