{"id":58335,"date":"2019-12-14T02:15:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T10:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=58335"},"modified":"2019-12-17T06:33:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T14:33:16","slug":"black-coffee-14-dec-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-46319\" src=\"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><em>It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n<p>Merry Christmas, everyone!<\/p>\n<p>I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! In the meantime, why don&#8217;t we get this show on the road? Then I can start mine &#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; David Farragut<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Change is the essential process of all existence.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; Mr. Spock, <em>Star Trek<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? The US government deficit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/markets\/us-deficit-soars-by-342-billion-in-first-2-months-of-fiscal-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spiked 12% to $342 billion<\/a> during the first two months of the 2020 fiscal year. At that pace, the deficit is on track to surpass $2 trillion &#8212; in a single year! Imagine that.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, the Fed has printed more than $320 billion of emergency daily repo market support since mid-September, when overnight lending rates jumped from 2% to 10% &#8212; and they just announced that they&#8217;ll print <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/avoid-repo-crisis-fed-will-flood-market-gargantuan-365-billion-year-end-liquidity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><strong>$500 billion more<\/strong><\/em><\/a> over the next 30 days. Yes, one-half <em><strong>trillion<\/strong><\/em>. I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s nothing to worry about. After all, printing nearly $1 trillion over a 90-day period is perfectly normal and the sign of a healthy financial system &#8230; Isn&#8217;t it?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> With nearly $1 trillion of new currency printing quietly going on behind the scenes, it&#8217;s no wonder that macroeconomist Alasdair Macleod is saying that, after a decade of <em><strong>loose<\/strong><\/em> monetary policy &#8212; followed by a crisis spurred by money <em><strong>tightness<\/strong><\/em> &#8212; &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/kingworldnews.com\/alasdair-macleod-the-world-is-on-the-edge-of-a-major-downturn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the planners are worried<\/a> about losing control&#8221; of the financial system. <em><strong>Ya think?<\/strong><\/em> So &#8230; just how worried <em><strong>are<\/strong><\/em> the &#8220;oracles&#8221; at the Fed? <em><strong>This<\/strong><\/em> worried:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wV30YwXaKJg?controls=0&amp;start=0;end=15\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> While the Fed&#8217;s rescue operations have been running at warp factor 8 in terms of supplying the banks with quick and cheap funding, they <em><strong>haven&#8217;t<\/strong><\/em> been so effective when it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/the-repo-market-is-broken-and-fed-injections-are-not-a-lasting-solution-market-pros-warn-2019-12-04\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">luring those same banks<\/a> to fund <em><strong>each other<\/strong><\/em>, as the big banks continue to hoard cash instead of lending it to other banks. And, uh, in case you&#8217;re wondering, that odor wafting past your nostrils is the unmistakable smell of &#8230; fear.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The market has been turning over $1 trillion in overnight loans in the US. But, as Wall Street on Parade observes, the Fed only provides about $100 billion a day, with the biggest banks and money market funds covering the rest. Thus, the repo loan crisis is telling us that &#8220;t<a href=\"https:\/\/wallstreetonparade.com\/2019\/12\/bis-drops-a-bombshell-four-u-s-mega-banks-are-core-of-repo-loan-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he biggest banks are backing away<\/a> from lending to institutions at risk of bankruptcy.&#8221; Apparently, there are <em><strong>a lot<\/strong><\/em> of risky institutions out there.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, the Great Financial Crisis in 2008 also saw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/ask\/answers\/033015\/how-did-financial-crisis-affect-banking-sector.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">banks&#8217; reluctance to lend to other banks<\/a>. The good news is: this time the Fed is proactively providing the necessary liquidity to pick up the slack and keep the system from imploding. But the quadrillion-dollar question is: How long can they keep it going without causing a panic-inducing loss of confidence in the financial system?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Now for the punchline: the current repo crisis is getting worse. As Dave Kranzler noted this week, &#8220;Despite printing money in an amount that&#8217;s close to the peak monthly QE after the 2008 crisis, the Fed (decision) to quietly increase the amount it&#8217;s printing for the banks is a clear indicator the <a href=\"https:\/\/investmentresearchdynamics.com\/the-feds-repo-qe-the-underlying-problems-are-escalating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">problems in the banking system are escalating<\/a> at a faster rate than the Fed&#8217;s money printing operation.&#8221; Obviously, the Fed needs to step it up &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JKRu-xH58E8?controls=0&amp;start=12\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Indeed, in a shocking admission this week, the Bank of International Settlements &#8212; also known as the central banks&#8217; central bank &#8212; all but admitted that the world now finds itself in a position where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/fed-was-suddenly-facing-multiple-ltcms-bis-offers-stunning-explanation-what-really-happened\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">central banks have no choice<\/a> but to constantly print money out of thin air to prop up asset prices. And do it <em><strong>forevermore<\/strong><\/em>. Well &#8230; unless they want to see the entire financial system to implode.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> As Bill Holter notes, &#8220;If you read between the lines, the financial system itself is at risk without the Fed&#8217;s liquidity fire hose because a lack of available overnight capital would force banks to sell holdings, which would damage asset values. Bank equity would be wiped out quickly &#8212; as in &#8216;overnight&#8217; &#8212; and then the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsmineset.com\/2019\/12\/10\/as-we-keep-telling-you-its-all-about-credit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">failures will begin to spread<\/a>.&#8221; Let&#8217;s hope the Fed is enjoying the financial hamster wheel because it&#8217;s going to be on that thing until it breaks.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Don&#8217;t tell any of this to the stock market, as the party on Wall Street continues unabated, with the S&amp;P 500 ending the week on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/us-stocks-set-to-climb-as-china-trade-deal-gets-closer-and-conservatives-take-uk-election-2019-12-13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">yet another all-time high<\/a>, goosed by global central bank monetary spigots that can never be shut off.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> I know what some of you are thinking: <em>If things are so bad, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/were-living-borrowed-time\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">why are stocks still soaring<\/a>?<\/em> Well &#8230; aside from the Fed&#8217;s money injections, the market is in denial regarding the evidence for stocks&#8217; excessive valuations. As Adam Taggart point out, &#8220;there is a time lag between the collapse of the argument underlying the 10-year bull market and investors&#8217; recognition of that.&#8221; As such, it&#8217;s only a matter of time before the longest bull market in stock market history ends up like <strong><em>this<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3at_Ev2kOoI?controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> The good news is, at some point, the world <em><strong>will<\/strong><\/em> rediscover <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldmoney.com\/research\/goldmoney-insights\/fiat-s-failings-gold-and-blockchains\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the benefits to an economy that uses gold<\/a> as a store of value, if not a medium of exchange, including lower prices via product innovation, technologies and competition. It also encourages borrowers to repay their debts quickly and &#8212; most importantly &#8212; it rewards savers by preventing their long-term savings from being depreciated over time, and protects nest eggs from being sharply devalued in a currency crisis.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> That&#8217;s especially important if you believe Charles Hugh Smith, who is warning that: &#8220;Eleven years into the loose-money recovery (consisting of) <a href=\"http:\/\/charleshughsmith.blogspot.com\/2019\/12\/why-this-sucker-is-going-down.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">useless financial activity<\/a>, disconnected from the real-world economy, this sucker is finally going down for reasons that have little to do with tight money &#8211; but everything to do with the fact that none of the structural problems have been addressed, much less fixed.&#8221; If true, all that&#8217;s left is the order to abandon ship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The US job market grew at a much better-than-forecast rate in November, suggesting that the economy&#8217;s momentum can continue into the end of the year:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>266,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Jobs added to the economy in October.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>187,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of jobs that Wall Street was expecting to be added.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>3.5%<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The unemployment rate for October; that is down from 3.6% in September.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>26<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Percentage reduction in the pace of monthly job growth over 2018.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>50<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The number of years since the unemployment rate was as low as it is today.<\/p>\n<p><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/sergeiklebnikov\/2019\/12\/05\/heres-what-to-expect-from-the-november-jobs-report-according-to-market-experts\/#45808f3266b7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forbes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[poll id=&#8221;298&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Last Week&#8217;s Poll Result<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How old were you when you bought your first home?<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-polls-ul\">\n<li>I was in my 20s (69%)<\/li>\n<li>I was in my 30s (22%)<\/li>\n<li>I was in my 40s (8%)<\/li>\n<li>50 or older (1%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More than 1500 Len Penzo dot Com homeowners &#8212; or previous homeowners &#8212; responded to last week&#8217;s question, and it turns out that slightly more than 3 in 10 of them bought their first home when they were 30 or older. As for me, I was 27 year old; sadly, I bought my first home three months before the Southern California home market topped in the early 1990, and I was upside down for the next seven years. But that&#8217;s another story for another day.<\/p>\n<p>If <strong><em>you<\/em><\/strong> have a question you&#8217;d like me to ask the readers here, send it to me at <strong>Len@LenPenzo.com<\/strong> and be sure to put &#8220;Question of the Week&#8221; in the subject line.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Useless News: The Traffic Stop<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A man got pulled over by a cop because he was weaving in and out of the lanes. The cop got out of his car and asked the driver to blow in a breath-analyzer tube to check his alcohol level. &#8221;Oh, no,&#8221; the driver said. &#8221;I can&#8217;t do that. If I do that, I&#8217;ll have an asthma attack and die.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;OK,&#8221; said the officer, &#8221;let&#8217;s go down to the station and you can pee in a cup to check your alcohol level.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Oh, no, I can&#8217;t do that,&#8221; said the driver. &#8220;I&#8217;m a diabetic and if I pee my blood sugar will go down so low that I might die.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Fine then,&#8221; the cop replied, &#8220;let&#8217;s go to the station and take a blood test to check your alcohol level.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Oh, no, I can&#8217;t do that,&#8221; countered the driver. &#8220;I&#8217;m a hemophiliac and I&#8217;ll never stop bleeding if you draw my blood.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;All right then,&#8221; said the officer. &#8220;Then just step outside your car and walk this white line for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Again, the driver declined. &#8221;Oh, no, I <em><strong>can&#8217;t<\/strong> <\/em>do that,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Why not?&#8221; asked the cop.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Because I&#8217;m drunk.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>(h\/t: Susan)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>This Week&#8217;s Sponsor: Easily Grow and Optimize Your 401(k) with Blooom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pubtrack.co\/92qln22\/3gf5rc\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-58231 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Blooom-US-CPA-Banner-625x521-Grooow-your-401k.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Blooom-US-CPA-Banner-625x521-Grooow-your-401k.png 625w, https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Blooom-US-CPA-Banner-625x521-Grooow-your-401k-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/a>Blooom is the <strong>ONLY<\/strong> independent robo-advisor that specializes in managing 401(k)s, 403(b)s and TSP retirement accounts; in short, Blooom offers smart, simple retirement plan optimization. For a <strong>fast and free check-up<\/strong> of your employee-sponsored retirement account to see exactly where your retirement fund stands on fees and diversification risk, or to simply learn more about how Blooom can help you grow <em><strong>your<\/strong><\/em> retirement plan, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pubtrack.co\/92QLN22\/3GF5RC\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Useless News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are the top &#8212; and bottom &#8212; five states in terms of the average number of pages viewed per visit here at Len Penzo dot Com over the past 30 days:<\/p>\n<p>1. New Mexico (4.68 pages\/visit) <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>!!!!<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n2. Idaho (2.33)<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong> !<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n3. Mississippi (1.94)<br \/>\n4. Louisiana (1.87)<br \/>\n5. Wisconsin (1.80)<\/p>\n<p>46. Illinois (1.28)<br \/>\n47. Rhode Island (1.25)<br \/>\n48. Hawaii (1.20)<br \/>\n49. Montana (1.13)<br \/>\n50. Wyoming (1.00)<\/p>\n<p>Whether you happen to enjoy what you&#8217;re reading (like my <em><strong>really<\/strong><\/em> good friends in New Mexico) &#8212; or not (ahem, Wyoming) &#8212; please don&#8217;t forget to:<\/p>\n<p>1. Click on that <strong>Like<\/strong> button in the sidebar to your right and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo\">become a fan of Len Penzo dot Com on Facebook<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>2. Make sure you <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/LenPenzo\">follow me on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>3. <a href=\"mailto:lenpenzolist@aweber.com\">Subscribe via email<\/a> too!<\/p>\n<p>And last, but not least &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>4. <em><strong>Please support this website by patronizing my sponsors!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Thank you!!!!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Letters, I Get Letters<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Every week I feature the most interesting question or comment &#8212; assuming I get one, that is. And folks who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbag get their letter highlighted here whether it&#8217;s interesting or not! You can reach out to me at: <strong>Len@LenPenzo.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last week I received this note from <strong>Carroll<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Thanks for the advice! I think your blog deserves more attention than it&#8217;s getting. I&#8217;ll probably be back again to read more.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Aww, thank you, Carroll! Hey &#8230; wait a minute. What do you mean, &#8220;probably&#8221;?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed this, please forward it to your friends and family. I&#8217;m Len Penzo and I approved this message.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-size: smaller;\">Photo Credit: brendan-c<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! In the meantime, why don&#8217;t we get this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[472],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-58335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"pmpro-has-access","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! In the meantime, why don&#8217;t we get this [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Len Penzo dot Com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-14T10:15:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-17T14:33:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"218\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Len Penzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Len Penzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Len Penzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd\"},\"headline\":\"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-14T10:15:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-17T14:33:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\"},\"wordCount\":1765,\"commentCount\":18,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\",\"name\":\"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-14T10:15:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-17T14:33:16+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg\",\"width\":218,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\",\"description\":\"The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Block_L.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Block_L.png\",\"width\":359,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/LenPenzo\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/LenPenzo\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Len Penzo\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations","og_description":"It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! In the meantime, why don&#8217;t we get this [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html","og_site_name":"Len Penzo dot Com","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo","article_published_time":"2019-12-14T10:15:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-12-17T14:33:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":218,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Len Penzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LenPenzo","twitter_site":"@LenPenzo","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Len Penzo","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html"},"author":{"name":"Len Penzo","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd"},"headline":"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations","datePublished":"2019-12-14T10:15:18+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-17T14:33:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html"},"wordCount":1765,"commentCount":18,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg","articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html","name":"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg","datePublished":"2019-12-14T10:15:18+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-17T14:33:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee-christmas-breweddaily_com-e1574817850832.jpeg","width":218,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id58335-black-coffee-14-dec-2019.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Black Coffee: The Fed Quietly Mans Its Battle Stations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/","name":"Len Penzo dot Com","description":"The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Len Penzo dot Com","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Block_L.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Block_L.png","width":359,"height":360,"caption":"Len Penzo dot Com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo","https:\/\/x.com\/LenPenzo"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd","name":"Len Penzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Len Penzo"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}