WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is an excerpt from Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke’s semi-annual hearing Q&A session Tuesday for the
Senate Banking Committee:
When asked why the Federal Reserve has not done a third round
of Quantitative Easing due to the sustained high unemployment rate:
BERNANKE: We have taken a wide range of extraordinary actions to
support the economy. In June we took the step of continuing the maturity
extension program which has many of the features of quantitative easing
in that it involves purchases of long term securities which provides
financial accommodation and additional support to the economy. We made
clear that we are prepared to take further actions and we are looking to
see if we are going to get sustainable improvements in the labor market.
If we are not getting sustainable improvement we will have to seriously
consider taking additional action. The reason that there is any question
is really again the range of views about efficacy, cost and risk
associated with these non-conventional measures, but that being said, as
we said in June we are prepared to take further action, and we will
evaluate our options as we go forward.
** MNI Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MMUFE$,MGU$$$,MFU$$$]
