I said it all along: Better Pegleg than wheelchair.

One leg is better than none. Very important acknowledgment.

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Fed Policy Makers Agree Next Move on Rates Will Be an Increase
2008-08-26 18:00:49.60 GMT

By Craig Torres
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve policy makers agreed
this month that their next change in interest rates will be to
raise them, while reaching no conclusion on the timing of such a
decision.
``A number of participants worried about the possibility
that core inflation might fail to moderate next year unless the
stance of monetary policy was tightened sooner than currently
anticipated by financial markets,'' according to minutes of the
Federal Open Market Committee meeting released today. At the
same time, officials agreed that the timing of any move will
depend on economic and financial developments.
The minutes show a debate between Fed officials concerned
about inflation, which accelerated last month to the fastest 12-
month pace in 17 years, and those who say price gains will ease
in response to the economic slowdown and drop in commodities.
The Fed left the benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2
percent on Aug. 5 and signaled that weak employment and
financial instability will delay an increase in short-term
borrowing costs.
``Many participants noted that the financial system
remained fragile, with some expressing continued concern about
the possibility of an adverse feedback loop'' where tighter
credit conditions push the housing market even lower, the
minutes of the meeting said.
``In contrast, several other participants suggested that
the risks to the financial system had receded' and said that
credit conditions were ``broadly consistent'' with periods of
weak growth or recession,'' the minutes said.