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Money matters: Federal Open Market Committee
Graham Macdonald
MBMG International Ltd.
The most talked about component of the System is
probably the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which oversees open
market operations - the main tool used by the Federal Reserve to
influence money market conditions and the growth of money and credit.
The FOMC is the monetary policymaking body of the Federal Reserve
System. It is responsible for formulation of a monetary policy designed
to promote economic growth, full employment, stable prices, and a
sustainable pattern of international trade and payments.
The FOMC sets monetary policy by specifying the short-term objective for
open market operations - purchases and sales of U.S. government and
federal agency securities. Open market operations, the principal tool of
monetary policy, affect the provision of reserves to depository
institutions and, in turn, the cost and availability of money and credit
in the U.S. economy. Currently, the objective is a target level for the
federal funds rate (the rate that depository institutions charge on
overnight sales of immediately available funds among themselves).
The FOMC also directs Federal Reserve operations in foreign currencies;
such operations are coordinated with the U.S. Treasury, which has
responsibility for formulating U.S. policies regarding the exchange
value of the US Dollar.
The Federal Open Market Committee consists of twelve voting members: the
seven members of the Board of Governors and five of the twelve Federal
Reserve Bank presidents. The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York serves on a continuous basis; the presidents of the other
Reserve Banks serve one-year terms on a rotating basis beginning on
January 1 of each year.
The rotating seats are filled from the following four groups of banks,
one bank president from each group: Boston, Philadelphia, and Richmond;
Cleveland and Chicago; Atlanta, St. Louis, and Dallas; and Minneapolis,
Kansas City, and San Francisco. All of the Reserve Bank presidents, even
those who are not currently voting members, attend FOMC meetings,
participate in the discussions, and contribute to the assessment of the
economy and of policy options. A statement is released at about 2:15
p.m. on the final day of each FOMC meeting. The disclosure policy has
evolved over the years as the FOMC has sought to provide more
information on its views on economic activity and risks to the outlook.
The FOMC meets eight times a year, usually for one day. The meetings in
January-February and June-July are two-day meetings. At the two-day
meetings, the FOMC members and the nonvoting Federal Reserve Bank
presidents provide individual, longer-run projections of the real and
nominal growth of the gross domestic product, the rate of unemployment,
and the rate of inflation for the current year and the year ahead.
The central tendencies of the projections are included in the Monetary
Policy Report delivered to Congress each February and July. At the
two-day meetings, the FOMC also considers longer-run strategies for
monetary policy and, at the first meeting of the year, deals with
administrative matters.
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The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can accept
any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor bear any
responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions taken or not
taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more information please
contact Graham Macdonald on [email protected]
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Snap Shots: Man Ray and Kiki
of Montparnasse
by Harry Flashman
Paris in the early 1920’s was one of the raunchiest cities in the world.
What went on in Paris makes Amsterdam today look like a kindergarten. It
was a city of excesses in all ways, and definitely sexually. “Free love”
was not invented by the flower power groups in the USA. Paris had it
all, and then some, almost half a century earlier.
 Violon
d’Ingres
It also had a flourishing artistic commune, and two of their members
were Emmanuel Radnitsky (who changed his name to Man Ray when he was 15
years old) and Kiki of Montparnasse, a truly free spirit who once said,
“All I need is an onion, a bit of bread, and a bottle of red; and I will
always find somebody to offer me that.” Both of them have left their
marks on the history of photography (as well as their marks upon each
other).
Man Ray (1890-1976) arrived in Paris in 1921, drawn to a city pulsating
with an intellectual and creative energy that attracted writers,
musicians, artists, exiles, and free-thinkers throughout Europe and the
United States. America was then, as it still is in many ways, the
bastion of prudity.
As one means of supporting himself abroad Man Ray, who was initially an
artist, took photographic portraits, and he quickly emerged as the
premier photographer of Paris at the time. Man Ray had quickly turned to
the camera as the fastest way to do a portrait. “If it is a portrait
that interests me, a face, or a nude, I will use my camera. It is
quicker than making a drawing or a painting (and) to express what I
feel, I use the medium best suited to express that idea, which is also
always the most economical one.” His reputation as a master of the
photographic portrait was unsurpassed, not only for his technical
prowess but also for his innovative poses and imaginative approach. He
photographed virtually all the artistic literati and personalities of
Paris in the ’20s including Picasso, Matisse, Virginia Woolf, T.S.
Eliot, James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway.
 Lee
Miller
It was during this time that he met Kiki of Montparnasse. Illegitimate
and poor, her early years were marked by her ability to fend for
herself, by whatever means were needed. By the time she was a teenager
she was ‘working’ as a model, and soon came into contact with major
artists and writers of the time and she met and befriended the likes of
Hemingway, Kisling, Foujita, Cocteau, and Man Ray - the latter who also
became her lover for six years. Her collaborations with Man Ray produced
some of Surrealism’s most iconic images, including Noire et blanche and
Le Violon d’Ingres, where for this photograph Man Ray painted the f
cut-outs on her back, seeing the relationship between the female form
and the shape of the violin.
At the height of her fame in 1929, Kiki created a sensation when she
wrote her memoirs, which were promptly banned in America. Armed with the
most endearing charms, creative talents, and a keen intelligence, Kiki
revealed in her recollections the life of a fiercely modern individual
who was a truly emancipated and imaginative woman.
Man Ray’s imagination also led him to produce other non-standard ways of
producing a photograph, including placing objects on photographic paper
and then exposing the paper to light and processing from there, and also
solarized prints, such as the famous one of his assistant Lee Miller
taken in 1930. This effect is produced by a re-exposure of the negative
during processing, which reverses the blacks and whites. According to
Miss Miller, this occurred when a mouse ran over her foot during the
development and the light was turned on and off to see what it was!
Alas! We do not have such unbridled artistic expression these days.
Modern Medicine: Well I’ll be Blepharoplasted!
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
In the last three weeks, three people I know have had eyelid
surgery, which we medico’s call a Blepharoplasty. One was an older male, the
second an older female and the third a much younger woman. The reason,
however, was the same for each. They had bags under the eyes and did not
like the appearance this gave them. Now I want you to be honest – have you
ever stood in front of the mirror and with a hand on each side of your face
pulled gently to see what you used to look like? And then pondered on
whether you should have cosmetic surgery?
Blepharoplasty is a cosmetic procedure to remove fat, usually along with
excess skin and muscle from the upper and lower eyelids. Eyelid surgery can
correct those drooping upper lids and puffy bags below your eyes, features
that make you look older.
Having this procedure done can enhance your appearance, and your
self-confidence, but it won’t turn you into Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie.
Before you decide to have surgery, think carefully about your expectations
and discuss them with your surgeon.
The best candidates for eyelid surgery are people who are physically
healthy, psychologically stable, and realistic in their expectations. Most
are 35 or older, because the bags under the eyes do come as part of the
aging grab-bag of fun, but if droopy, baggy eyelids run in your family, you
may decide to have eyelid surgery at a younger age.
A few medical conditions make blepharoplasty more risky. They include
thyroid problems such as hypothyroidism and Graves’ disease, dry eye or lack
of sufficient tears, high blood pressure or other circulatory disorders,
cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. A detached retina or glaucoma is also
reason for caution; so check with your ophthalmologist before you have
surgery.
One aspect that must be considered by everyone who wants this (or any other
cosmetic) surgery, is that of complications. Despite the competency of the
cosmetic surgeon (and make sure you have a fully qualified one), problems
can arise. These can include infection or a reaction to the anesthesia.
Minor complications that occasionally follow blepharoplasty include double
or blurred vision for a few days; temporary swelling at the corner of the
eyelids; and a slight asymmetry in healing or scarring. Tiny whiteheads may
appear after your stitches are taken out; your surgeon can remove them
easily with a very fine needle.
Following surgery, some patients may have difficulty closing their eyes when
they sleep; in rare cases this condition may be permanent. Another very rare
complication is a condition called ectropion, a pulling down of the lower
lids. In this case, further surgery may be required.
Eyelid surgery is usually performed using a local anesthetic which numbs the
area around your eyes. You will be awake during the surgery, but relaxed and
should feel no pain; however, you will feel tugging and pulling sensations.
Blepharoplasty usually takes one to three hours, depending on the extent of
the surgery. The surgeon will make incisions following the natural lines of
your eyelids; in the creases of your upper lids, and just below the lashes
in the lower lids. Working through these incisions, the surgeon separates
the skin from underlying fatty tissue and muscle, removes excess fat, and
trims sagging skin and muscle where needed. The incisions are then closed
with very fine sutures.
Your surgeon will follow your progress for the first week or two, because
there will always be some bruising. The stitches will be removed two days to
a week after surgery. Once they’re out, the swelling and discoloration
around your eyes will gradually subside, and you’ll start to look and feel
much better.
You should be able to read or watch television after two or three days.
However, you won’t be able to wear contact lenses for about two weeks. Most
people feel ready to go out in public (and back to work) in a week to 10
days. By then the bruising will be less obvious, and you will be ready for
the compliments as people tell you how young you look!
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
Just like that bosom test. Yankee Bubblee. Nit recommends Rocklets
(especially red ones).
Singnitsa
Dear “Singnitsa” (AKA Mistersingha),
I take it all back! Never let it be said that you didn’t deliver (even
though it has been something like three or four years of endless empty
promises)! The 10 baht packet of Rocklets and the Californian Champagne
(naughty, naughty Californians, because it should only be called “Methode
Champenoise”) arrived. Hillary is totally astounded. The “champagne” is
called “extra dry” with a warning on the label that it contains “Sulfites”.
I shall open it with care. Thank you Mistersingha and Nit. It shows that in
every one of us, no matter how mean we may appear at times, there are still
some vestiges of chivalry left. Even in your case.
Dear Hillary,
You are always telling your readers to meet ‘good’ Thai women if they want
to be happy in marriage, but since the divorce rates seem to be the same all
over the world, does it really make any d ifference?
If you find a woman that wants to look after you, does it matter where she
came from, beer bar or wherever? May as well enjoy it all now, rather than
waiting around for the Miss Right ‘good’ woman who might never appear
anyway, and leave you after a few years after you’ve bought them everything.
Living it Now
Dear Living it Now,
You do have a (very small) point, but if we were all to live only for today,
then we would be in a right proper mess by now, my Petal. Much of what we do
today is geared towards giving us a better tomorrow. Why do we go to school?
Why do we go on to train for a profession? Because we want a better
tomorrow. I can see that your concept as far as a life’s partner is
concerned, does not correspond to my ideas or ideals. Your “If you find a
woman that wants to look after you” makes me think that you are not after a
“partner” to share life together, but that you are really just looking for a
woman to take over from where your mother left off, but this time you can
order her around as well. Your phrase “enjoy it all now” is for your own
personal (and I’m afraid selfish) enjoyment. I feel sorry for you, Living it
Now, because you will never experience the true joy of living life to the
full with an equal partner. For many this seems an elusive Utopian dream,
but you should look for it to really grow up and truly enjoy your position
as an adult in this world, but you will be very lucky to find it in a beer
bar.
Dear Hillary,
We are often in Thailand and the one thing that completely confuses me is
the subject of tipping – when and how much? If the establishment charges a
“service” fee, should you tip as well? What do you do as someone living
there, for example? I believe that the wages are not high for some of the
people in bars and restaurants and they need the tips, but I do not want to
throw money away either? What’s your tip about tipping?
Tippy
Dear Tippy,
There are two situations here – Service Charge or no Service Charge. If the
establishment adds on 10 percent (the usual amount), then as far as Hillary
is concerned – that’s the tip. There are some places that no doubt pocket
the Service Charge, but that’s not anything of our doing, nor can we change
it. That is something between the employees and the owners to work out.
However, if Hillary feels that the waiter or service provider has gone well
beyond that which could be expected, then I reward with a little extra
something for that person, irrespective. You know the sort of things I like
– a little fawning, groveling and lots of compliments and a heavy hand with
the champagne bottle. In an establishment that has no standard add on
Service Charge, then it really is up to you. Small change left over or up to
10 percent is quite normal. The service people are grateful for anything you
leave them. It all adds up by the end of the day. By the way, since most
establishments lump the tips together and divvy up at the end of the night,
if you want to reward your particular waiter or waitress, then palm them
their special tip, separate from the general tip when the bill is paid.
A Female Perspective: And what does Daddy say?
with Sharona Watson
For the last few weeks, I have been
looking at different aspects of parenthood from a really female perspective.
At which point, I will make a small confession; despite what might sometimes
seem like an anti-male tone in this column, as far as a family goes, I must
accept that it is all about balance. This means that in any discussion about
parenting, whether I like it or not, I must take into account the opinion of
the man, the male, the hunter-gatherer, the “Daddy”.
I had thought about asking my husband for his views, but Andy’s not really
interested today – at least that’s my take on it. If I felt like being a bit
more reasonable, I might admit that his reluctance might be because he’s
busy filming a new series for Pattaya Mail TV, called “Beyond the Beach” and
he’s out until all hours again. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to
speak to a couple of fathers and ask them the same kinds of questions that I
had asked the mothers. Don’t want them to feel left out or anything! Once
again, I’m keeping the identity of my interviewees confidential, at their
request.
I met ‘Pat’ and ‘Billy’ doing what they like doing. Having a beer and a
chat. Pat has been in Thailand for almost a year now. Originally from a
“colonially oppressed island”, he previously lived in Hong Kong. He’s tall
and very, very powerful looking. Not the kind of person who would be easily
scared, but he has a sweet smile and soft voice and you’d certainly never be
scared of him. But what, I wondered, was his greatest fear as a father, when
his two children, one boy and one girl, were small?
“That suddenly I would wake up and they wouldn’t be there. I always had the
dread of them being stolen. We were warned about it when we started living
in Hong Kong. Something happening to them, someone abusing them. That was my
greatest fear.”
Pat’s friend Billy has been in Thailand for fifteen years and his two
children, also one boy and one girl, are both married now. Billy is short
(he said he wouldn’t mind me describing him thus) and plump. Originally from
the country responsible for “colonially oppressing” Pat, Billy recently
became a grandfather for the first time. I asked him, does that paternal
fear ever disappear?
“That’s a good question, actually. No, I would say it never does. But it’s
certainly a different kind of fear now and it’s also a very different fear
that I feel for my son than the fear I feel for my daughter. And that was
the same when they were growing up, for that matter. For my boy, I was
always scared that he would get beaten up, or bullied. I mean, he was always
quite big and strong and could look after himself alright but there was
always a little devil nagging away at you, saying, “What if this happened?”
As a Dad, I kind of taught him not to back down and a couple of times I had
to think to myself, “Well, maybe I got that bit wrong”. With my daughter, my
fear was always that she would get into bad company and be with lads who
wouldn’t show her any respect. To be honest, there’s lot of blokes who don’t
give a damn about women and I might have been one of them once. I might have
been one of them still, if I hadn’t had a daughter.”
That was as honest an answer as I’ve ever received. So what was your
greatest happiness? Pat’s response was immediate, “Definitely watching the
birth. It was fantastic. I even gave a bit of help. Wonderful!”
Billy thought before replying, “Well, I missed the birth of my two children
because I was off-shore. But even so, when I heard about them being born, it
didn’t matter. They were still the best moments of my life. The fact that I
wasn’t there, didn’t matter to me as long as they were healthy and the wife
was alright. She had the family with her which made it easier for her. That
and becoming a granddad. I thought I’d feel really old, but I never did. I
just feel really proud.”
Had their children turned out how they wanted? Pat responded; “Yep. My son,
all the way through his education. No problem. He finished his university
with a Masters in Physics. When my daughter started her GCSEs, she was a
little bit problematic and needed a little bit of sorting out. But now she’s
made the grade in Physical Education and Geography and she’s teaching in
Dublin.”
Billy took a long drink of his beer before replying; “You start off wanting
all these things for your children, like I wanted my boy to play football
for England. Then I had to start working abroad and within quite a short
time I realised that it was wrong of me to try and make my children do what
I wanted them to do. So I just tried to give them as much support as I could
and to stop them making stupid mistakes. You do what you have to do. I love
them. That’s the main thing.”
I asked them what they thought was the most important value you can teach
your children?
Pat said, “I think you have to be tolerant towards all sorts of religions
and colours and accept people as they are. You have to give children
guidance. By keeping a firm hand and always being honest with them and
letting them know what this planet is about and why things happen, because a
lot of children grow up today not knowing and I think that can be a huge
mistake.”
Billy’s reply reminded me of my female friends, “I think loyalty and
honesty. Hopefully the two go together. What you don’t want them to do is to
lie and cheat and be underhanded and scheming and back-stabbing. You don’t
want that because it would be an embarrassment to you as a father.”
I must say, I liked Billy and Pat very much. Maybe there isn’t that much
difference between men and women, after all? Or just maybe, there is…
Next week: A Female Pioneer
[email protected]
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