The Fed finished up a two day meeting, and the market was waiting with bated breath to hear what Bernanke had to say at the end of it. Bernanke announced that while the economy is growing, it is not growing at the pace they would "like to see" so the Fed will continue pumping money into the system via it's bond buying program to keep inflation and interest rates in check.
GDP for the 2nd quarter grew at 1.7%. Originally, 1st quarter GDP was reported at 1.8%, however it was revised down to 1.0% today. SO.... after revising the 1st quarter number down, 2nd quarter GDP grew at a faster rate. Seems rather convenient to me, but I'll take it.
Personal savings rates are up to 4.5%, which is good for the economy's long term health.
Unemployment is currently at 7.6%, and is expected to report in at 7.5% on Friday. So keep a close eye on those Friday unemployment numbers to see if there are any surprises.
The markets themselves remained relatively flat today. There was a massive up-swing to start the day (lasted all of amateur hour from 9:30 to a little after 10:30), followed by a massive sell-off into the Fed's 2:00 meeting, followed by a massive up-swing after the announcement that lasted till 3:00, followed by a massive sell-off in the final hour of trading between 3:00 and 4:00. Institutional investors usually play in the last hour of trading each day, so I'd say this sell off is a good indication that institutions are going to unload their wares.
And here's a 5 minute chart of the DOW today...
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