News
Market Watch | Bernanke pledges continued easy policy
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday used his first-ever press conference to tell an uncertain global market that he’s quite comfortable with the current policy stance and is not contemplating any quick policy moves to combat higher inflation or slower growth.
Bloomberg | Bernanke Begins Public Dialogue With Pledge to Maintain Record Stimulus
Ben S. Bernanke, at the first press conference by a Federal Reserve Chairman following a policy meeting, said the economy still requires monetary support while the need to contain inflation means further easing is unlikely.
WSJ | Fed Takes Foot Off the Gas
The Federal Reserve used its first-ever news conference to signal it will phase out a controversial bond-buying program—and to reassure a skeptical public that the central bank is doing everything it can to control inflation and expand an uneven recovery that has yet to reach many Americans.
Bloomberg | Thailand Says Inflation Risks Exceed Threats to Growth as Output Tumbles
Thailand’s borrowing costs are inappropriate as inflation risks exceed threats to growth, the central bank said as the government predicted industrial output will revive from the worst slide since 2009 after Japan’s quake.
Market Watch | Bank of Japan holds steady, details quake loans
The Bank of Japan on Thursday held policy steady, rejected a proposal to increase the size of its asset-buying program and detailed a lending program for banks in disaster-struck areas.
Econ Comments
Minyanville | Did Ben Bernanke Hint at QE3 During Historic Fed Press Conference?
Bernanke did not indicate there would be a third round of quantitative easing, but many traders feel the central bank is headed in that direction. Here's why.
RCM | The Fed's Low Rates Are Restraining Recovery
The prevailing view among economists, policymakers and Federal Reserve Board governors -- and the conventional Washington wisdom more broadly -- remains that zero or near-zero short-term interest rates (negative 2% in real terms) have some unavoidable adverse side effects, but unquestionably stimulate the economy. Put more simply, the lower the rate, the more economic stimulation.
WSJ | Bernanke Meets the Press
He favors a 'strong' dollar as the dollar falls.
CNN: Money | The coming commodity price nightmare
Here's another sign we have much bigger inflation problems than Ben Bernanke.
Minyanville | The Fed's Dilemma and the Straw Man Economy
This week's podcast discusses economic growth signals, the end of QE2, and more.
AEI | Jobs, Inflation, and What Bernanke Said
Did the Fed chairman come clean in his first press conference?
Blogs
The Economist: Free exchange | Diced dollars
The current denizens of Washington, DC have been accused of doing many things to the once mighty dollar: debauching it, devaluing it, even dropping it from helicopters. But for the moment they seem behind the curve on dicing it.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Parsing the Fed: How the Statement Changed
The Fed’s statement following the April meeting noted no change in policy, as the central bank signaled it will complete its bond-buying program this quarter as planned. (Read the full April statement.)
The Economist: Free exchange | Is the Fed satisfied?
So, the big question: is this the right policy path? Just listening to Mr Bernanke, one might be excused for thinking that it actually is not. The chairman said that the FOMC is confident that its purchases supported growth and job creation, and he said that the FOMC was confident that it could tighten effectively when it needed to, and it projected that employment would remain above target and inflation below target.
