The Fed cut rates for the first time since 2008, but the move, dubbed a hawkish cut, failed to appease the financial markets as equities slumped and the Dollar index rose to an 8-month high. Two Fed officials dissented from the decision, favoring no move on Wednesday, while the press conference further undercut market expectations going forward. Gold bugs and crypto maximalists also came out of the meeting less than impressed with the market reaction, as gold continued to head south, having touched on a 6-year high in June. As a reminder, late last week European Central Banks ditched a 20-year-old agreement to coordinate their gold sales. The so-called Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) was originally signed in 1999 to limit gold sales and help stabilize the market for the precious metal. In a statement, the ECB said that the signatories confirm that gold remains an important element of global monetary reserves, as it continues to provide asset diversification benefits, and none of them currently has plans to sell significant amounts of gold. The deal, originally between 15 central banks, capped the amount signatories could sell each year. Over the subsequent years, prices surged from less than $300 to a high of almost $2,000 in 2011 ($1,400 as of now). Now, of course, in spite of suggesting that there is no desire at the moment to sell off significant amounts, who knows how long that will last? Who would blame them for wanting to capitalize on price appreciation, especially in the face of slowing economic growth and deteriorating finances? At the same time, given the market pressure on policy makers for more rate cuts and the inability to un-invert the bond curve, calls for the adoption of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) may be revived. The theory states (among other things) that a government that can create its own money, such as the United States, cannot default on debt denominated in its own currency. A government can also pay for goods, services, and financial assets without a need to collect money in the form of taxes or debt issuance in advance of such purchases, is limited in its money creation and purchases by inflation