Alan Greenspan moves markets, a year after retiring as the Federal Reserve’s chairman. But the market’s Pavlovian reactions when he opens his mouth are dwindling. A spasm after he spoke on subprime mortgages last Thursday ended within 30 minutes. And traders must soon pay more attention to Ben Bernanke, his successor.

The Federal Open Markets Committee meets on Wednesday for the first time since the sell-off of late February. They will leave the core Fed Funds rate at 5.25 per cent. But the words in the accompanying communiqué will be analysed even more closely than the text of a Greenspan after-dinner speech.