stock reserves

[Doug Henwood]

I always get a little nervous about quoting Grant's Interest Rate Observer,
which has been bearish on stocks and bonds since its 1984 debut - with a
few exceptions, like recommending Asian and Russian stocks in early 1997.
Still, the report in the latest issue that the Swiss central bank is
thinking about putting some of its foreign exchange reserves into world
stock markets is pretty eye-catching. If they do this, the Swiss National
Bank would be following the precedent of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority,
which has already decided to put some of its $118 billion in reserves into
U.S. stocks. Grant of course reads this as further evidence of the market
top that's been forming for the last 15 years. I dunno, but it does seem
awful wacky.

Doug