Talk Is Cheap

It seems the government’s dollar policy is just a bundle of contradictions. The dollar had strengthened in recent days after Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson warned that he isn't ruling

out intervening in currency markets to stabilize the dollar. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also helped lift the dollar by suggesting the Fed is prepared to raise interest rates

to fight inflation. But then a top Fed policy-maker hinted on Monday that rates will remain on hold, which would _not _improve the dollar’s standing against other major currencies. Jeffrey

Lacker, who made the comments, is one of the more hawkish members of the Fed's policy-setting committee and his deliberately moderate tone on inflation expectations signals that he may

be comfortable leaving rates on hold for a while. The conflicting information is dizzying – so to set things straight we turn to esteemed trader, Dennis Gartman, author of The Gartman

Letter. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON INTEREST RATES? I don’t think the Fed has any chance of raising rates, replies Gartman, at least though the end of the year. Unemployment is going up. BUT ISN’T

THE BOND MARKET PRICING IT IN? I think the bond market gets confused sometimes, he says. HOW ABOUT THE DOLLAR? If they want to make the dollar stronger we need action and I don’t expect to

see that, Gartman says. (The weak U.S. currency is considered a key culprit in the surge in oil prices because some traders invest in oil as a hedge against a slumping dollar.) And your

thoughts on oil? I thought the action in the oil market was very poor on Monday. It would be interesting if oil trades lower Tuesday and doesn’t rally. If that happens the technicals would

be very bearish, says Gartman. I think the thing you need to look for is a gap lower open, adds Joe Terranova. That would be bearish in my book. HOW WOULD YOU TRADE IT? If you’re going to

trade it, trade UltraShort Oil & Gas Proshares Gartman counsels. But there any better ways to make money. ______________________________________________________ Got something to to say?

Send us an e-mail at [email protected] and your comment might be posted on the _Rapid Recap. _If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send your

e-mail to . _Trader disclosure: On June 16, 2008, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Adami

Owns (NUE), (AGU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (BTU), (MSFT); Macke Owns (ATVI), (MSFT), (INTC), (WMT), (HAS), (DIS); Najarian Owns (AAPL), (BHI), (CHK), (ENER), (HPQ), (TSO), (XLF); Najarian Owns

(GME) Calls; Terranova Owns (GS), (LUV), (FXC); Terranova Is Long Dec 2008 Crude Oil; Terranova Is Short Dec 2009 Crude Oil; GE Is The Parent Company Of CNBC; NBC Universal Is The Parent

Company Of CNBC_ _Terranova is chief alternatives strategist at Phoenix Investment Partners; Phoenix Investment Partners Ltd. Is Long Airtran Holdings, Alaska Air Group, American Airlines,

Apache, BP, British Airways, Chesapeake Energy, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Continental Airlines Delta Air Lines Deutsche Lufthansa, ENI SPA, ExxonMobil Gazprom, Hawaiian Holdings, Hess, Holly

Corp. Husky Energy, JetBlue, Lukoil, Marathon Oil, Murphy Oil, Occidental Petroleum, PetroBras Intl. Fin. Petro-Canada, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., Petroleos De Venezuela SA, Qantas Airways

Republic Airways, Royal Dutch Shell, Skywest, Southwest Airlines, Suncor Energy, Sunoco, Tesoro Texaco Capital, Total SA, United Airlines, US Airways Group, Valero Energy_ _Gartman Owns:

(FAX), (DIS), (EWC), (BPT), (PBR), (PLL), (CSH), (ADBE), (MCD), (PGH), (JJG; Gartman Is Short: (XOM), (BA), (DRI), (ING), (BP), (CME), (WFMI); CIBC Gartman Index Owns Copper, Gold, Corn,

Soybean, Natural Gas, 10yr Canadian Bond, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro; CIBC Gartman Index Owns Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index; CIBC Gartman Index Owns Hang Seng China Enterprises

Index; CIBC Gartman Index Is Short Crude Oil_