Out of control

Headlines on CNNfn.com this morning:

Stocks sink softly

Jobless claims rise

You know that stomach-bending time-is-really-slow-and-how-will-this-end feeling you get when the car spins out of control on black ice?

That’s the feeling Greenspan has right now.

He hasn’t tightened rates, and 10 year note rates are up 100 basis points in six weeks. That’s huge, with more probably to come. The Fed can’t not tighten, with inflation on every front. But Greenspan, who spent the 70s and 80s examining the huge impact that housing markets have on the national economy, also knows that tightening will crush home sales and dunk the economy faster than a lead fishing sinker.