The Federal Reserve's Report on U.S. Family Finances (as noted on The Big Picture)...the average family is not making much economic progress:
"After growing rapidly during the boom of the 1990s, the net worth of the typical American family rose only 1.5% after inflation between 2001 and 2004, the Federal Reserve said in an update of a survey it does once every three years.

The Fed said the net worth of the median American family -- the one smack in the statistical middle -- was $93,100 in 2004. Net worth, the difference between a family's assets and liabilities, rose a robust 10.3% between 1998 and 2001 and 17.4% in the three-year interval before that.

A booming housing market boosted the typical American family's wealth between 2001 and 2004, but stagnant stock prices and rising debt offset many of those gains."

From the WSJ on the report:

"The report, the most comprehensive survey of household wealth, also found a widening of the gap between households at the top and the bottom of the economic ladder. "While the typical American household basically ran in place, less affluent households actually lost ground," said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.

The net worth of the typical family in the richest 10% rose to $831,600, a 6.5% increase from 2001, adjusted for inflation. In contrast, the net worth of the typical family in the bottom 25% fell 1.5% to $13,300.

Meanwhile, the typical family took on more debt. After declining for years, mortgage and other debt as a percentage of total family assets rose to 15% in 2004 from 12.1%, the Fed said. "The largest part of that increase was attributable to debt secured by real estate," the report said. "As debt rose over the period, families devoted more of their incomes to servicing their debts, despite a general decline in interest rates."

http://federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2006/financesurvey.pdf

Speaking of the BOJ being hawkish. What about the Yen carry trade? Could it be worth buying out of the money call options, or possibly waiting for meltdowns in products that have been run up due to Japan's ZIRP.

Kevin Warsh, 35, was confirmed today as a new Fed Governor. Bloomberg reported in November that his nomination by
Bush:

"has been greeted by criticism and bewilderment by some former Fed officials and economists. They point to his political connections and inexperience, and say the White House could have found a better-known, more qualified choice... Warsh, if confirmed, would be the youngest member on a panel where the average age is currently 58. The nominee graduated from Harvard Law School in 1995 and spent the late 1990s working on mergers and acquisitions for Morgan Stanley in New York, where he provided financial advice to technology companies. "

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=71000001&sid=aOtbRiHZ0zqQ&refer=fed_watch

The WSJ law blog entry has more, including the following comment:

"Note to all Econ. grad students: Want to make it onto the Board of the Fed? Drop out now and marry into a billionaire family that's given $100k+ to Bush and the GOP in recent years. Also make sure the family has given $20k to the Dems on the Senate Banking Committee (i.e., Chuck Schumer) to ensure no Democratic opposition. "

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/02/16/kevin-warsh-has-got-it-going-on/