The FOMC has long communicated that, if something like its modal outlook played out, it would likely make one final $15 billion reduction in the pace of asset purchases at its October FOMC meeting, which is now taking place.  This would put an end to the purchase program known as QE-infinity.  In essence, we may […]

Part of my job the last three years on leave at the Fed was following public commentary on Fed policy—both expert and lay commentary. There were at least two reasons for doing so. First, lots of good ideas come in, and given the difficult times we were facing, careful consideration of all reasonable ideas was […]

Fed Chairman Bernanke commented on the monetary policy outlook at a speech at the NBER a couple of weeks ago, and then again in Congressional Testimony. He gave a clear signal that the current voting members of the FOMC plan to maintain a highly accommodative overall stance of monetary policy for some time. These remarks […]