Richard Russell Comments, page-6

Richard Russell's comments are interesting, but I take issue with the following statement:

"By the way, in 1913 Congress gave away its Constitutional right, it's sole right -- to create money. It gave it to a private corporation which called itself the Federal Reserve, and you know how that has turned out".

The Federal Reserve is regulated by legislation, and its Board of Governors is appointed by the Government, and approved by Congress. The Australian equivalent of the Federal Reserve is the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the legislative /Government controlled equivalent of the RBA in the USA is the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve is, for instance, required to report annually to the Congress, and more frequently than this on a wide range of matters - before various Congressional Committees, including the Banking and Finance Committee, and the Economics Committee.

The Federal Reserve is also far more open in its dialogue with the markets, in commenting on various matters (ie: submissions before Congressional Committees), and in providing information to the public than, for instance, our own Reserve Bank.

It is, therefore, a pity that I left several Federal Reserve documents at the office, including a detailed historical summary, and a detailed explanation of how the Open Market Committee works, and how the Federal Reserve acts as a Bankers Bank, and how it is regulated by Congress. Otherwise, I would be posting on the Federal Reserve in much more detail on this occasion.

Suffice for it to be said, however, that when Richard Russell makes observations like these, he betrays both his ideological leanings, and his underlying intelligence. He also risks readers questioning the accuracy /purpose of his ongoing market observations - whether right or wrong.