The Federal Reserve announced it would keep Fed funds at a target rate of zero to 0.25%. No surprise. The economy is weak and the central bank intends to hold nominal rates at virtually nada for the foreseeable future. Tell us something we didn’t know. How about detailing more of the internal thinking on the contentious issue of whether the Fed is set to roll out more quantitative easing (QE), such as buying Treasuries. QE, in its various forms, is the only policy option left at the zero bound and Bernanke and company appear to be laying the groundwork for rolling out a new round of this monetary medicine…maybe. Okay, that’s a bit more intriguing.
Daily Archives: September 21, 2010
READING ROUNDUP FOR TUESDAY: 9.21.2010
►18-month recession ended in June 2009
Megan Woolhouse/Boston Globe
“The Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, making the 18-month-long recession the longest since the end of World War II, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Cambridge nonprofit that declares the start and end of such downturns.”
►Why There’s No Joy Over the Recession’s End
Rick Newman/US News & World Report blog
“Maybe we need a new definition of ‘recession.'”