Interest Rates: From Scrooge To Santa

From Scrooge To Santa

Chairman Alan Greenspan was doing a pretty fair imitation of Scrooge. In congressional testimony last week, the Fed chief gave his gloomiest ever assessment of the economy, warning that consumers and businesses are so top- heavy with debt that a recovery is nowhere in sight. And any attempt by Congress or the White House to sneak through a quick-fix tax cut, he added, could widen the budget deficit and further harm the economy.

- His bleak words did not go over well among business leaders. Ed Yardeni, a New York City economist, immediately sent out a fax to his clients: "Will...

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