The briefcase barometer Fed watchers size up the bulge in Alan Greenspan�s briefcase NEW YORK (CNNfn) - While scrambling holiday shoppers keep some economists busy number-crunching, others are keeping their eyes on Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan�s early morning stroll to Tuesday�s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The size of Greenspan�s briefcase as he heads for the closed-door FOMC meeting is the best economic indicator of all, some say.

A bulky satchel, goes the rationale, spells out a rise in interest rates, as Greenspan will have to haul along notes to justify his decision.

On the other hand, a thin satchel means rates will remain pegged right where they are.



On the way in to the FOMC, Greenspan�s neutral expression was duly noted -- but was his briefcase? You decide.

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