Sanguine Greenspan?

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told New Zealand Treasurer Bill Birch that he believes the danger of a major plunge on Wall Street has eased, New Zealand’s Dominion newspaper reports today.

“We gained a lot of confidence from Greenspan,” Birch told the newspaper after returning from a visit to the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Greenspan has “moved away from his caution about ‘irrational exuberance,’ ” Birch said. “Whereas in October he would have worried about a major correction, they . . . now think that you’ll get ‘adjustments’ over time.”

Of course, given Greenspan’s often-tortured phrasing, it’s not certain Birch heard the Fed chief say what he thinks he heard him say.