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Comment and analysis from the FT

Fed I: FT editorial comment - hold rates
Whatever the other merits of the March rescue for struggling broker-dealer Bear Stearns, it has made Thursday’s rate-setting decision easier for the Fed. Saving Bear reassured the markets. The result is that if the Fed chooses to make one more 25bp cut, it’s unlikely to cause a flight from the dollar or drastic inflationary risks. But it would be better for the Fed to remain on hold this time, observe the effects of the medicine it has already administered and see what the government does next

Fed II: The Short View – long-term disappointment ahead
The market’s mind is made up already: The expected cut from 2.25 to 2 per cent, traders are convinced, will be the last for now. If the Fed does anything other than cut to 2 per cent and make a statement signalling a “pause” in rate cuts on Wednesday, it will be a huge market event. In the longer term, though, the market has set itself up for disappointment.

Fed III: Insight - the trouble with the Fed
The Fed must show some backbone, says Jeremy Granthan, chairman and chief strategist at GMO. If you always take the friendly way out, no bubbles will ever be pricked and we shall always be reacting to crises in an increasingly speculative world. Paul Volcker, the Fed chairman before Alan Greenspan, had the character to do tough, unpleasant things where necessary. His two successors have not. Perhaps, though, we get the Fed we deserve

Analysis: Does Wall Street really think the worst is over?
The belief is taking hold on Wall Street that the turmoil in credit markets that began last August could finally be abating. But new losses could develop as the economy deteriorates – just look at the US leveraged loan market.

Martin Wolf: The food crisis
Of the two crises disturbing the world economy – financial disarray and soaring food prices – the latter is the more disturbing. The food and fuel crisis of 2008 is a cry for our attention. Nobody knows how long these shocks will last. But they demand rapid policy changes across the globe. The right choices are evident. The time to make them is now.

View of the Day: Gold and the euro
The close relationship between the performance of gold and the euro since late 2005 means the weakness of the metal could prove significant, says Simon Derrick, strategist at Bank of New York Mellon.

Obituary: Sir Derek Higgs, City grandee and motorcyclist
Sir Derek Higgs, the primary architect of the UK’s code of good corporate governance who has died aged 64, was that rare mix of a Guardian-reading Coventry boy who made his mark as a City grandee. Sir Derek, chairman of Alliance & Leicester, is best known for his 2003 review of UK boards and non-executive directors that became the basis for the revised combined code.