FEDSPEAK: To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, the Committee will continue purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month…
For immediate release
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in December suggests that growth in economic activity paused in recent months, in large part because of weather-related disruptions and other transitory factors. Employment has continued to expand at a moderate pace but the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment advanced, and the housing sector has shown further improvement. Inflation has been running somewhat below the Committee’s longer-run objective, apart from temporary variations that largely reflect fluctuations in energy prices. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee expects that, with appropriate policy accommodation, economic growth will proceed at a moderate pace and the unemployment rate will gradually decline toward levels the Committee judges consistent with its dual mandate. Although strains in global financial markets have eased somewhat, the Committee continues to see downside risks to the economic outlook. The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective.
To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the Committee will continue purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month and longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month. The Committee is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction. Taken together, these actions should maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rates, support mortgage markets, and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative.
The Committee will closely monitor incoming information on economic and financial developments in coming months. If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the Committee will continue its purchases of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate, until such improvement is achieved in a context of price stability. In determining the size, pace, and composition of its asset purchases, the Committee will, as always, take appropriate account of the likely efficacy and costs of such purchases.
To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the Committee expects that a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends and the economic recovery strengthens. In particular, the Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that this exceptionally low range for the federal funds rate will be appropriate at least as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6-1/2 percent, inflation between one and two years ahead is projected to be no more than a half percentage point above the Committee’s 2 percent longer-run goal, and longer-term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored. In determining how long to maintain a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy, the Committee will also consider other information, including additional measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial developments. When the Committee decides to begin to remove policy accommodation, it will take a balanced approach consistent with its longer-run goals of maximum employment and inflation of 2 percent.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Charles L. Evans; Jerome H. Powell; Sarah Bloom Raskin; Eric S. Rosengren; Jeremy C. Stein; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Janet L. Yellen. Voting against the action was Esther L. George, who was concerned that the continued high level of monetary accommodation increased the risks of future economic and financial imbalances and, over time, could cause an increase in long-term inflation expectations.
Wtf is the FED buying anyways?debts that have been paid already?How many times can you sell an invalid debt?They would have to conduct an investigation of every single mortgage and every single MBS,and every single fraud in order to authenticate that as a valid debt and try to collect even though the taxpayer has already paid those debts via the Bailout,credit swaps,insurance and so on.Thats all America does these days is buy and sell debt over and over and over and over again.Show us the money trail and some real deal accounting of these ’so called debts”.How long does the game need to go on?They dont even try to conceal it anymore,its way out there in front of us all and that should get every single American citizen up in arms,[oh but we wont have any arms or legs if they get there way with gun control]And this sham goes way beyond American borders its global,they sell our crap debt to other countries as well so I guess that makes it ok.At least there screwing some other folks too.
Since when is the fed playing mediator and getting paid for it?It used to be if you had a biz situation with someone else and something went sideways you would have to work out your issues with the other party like a couple of adults,and if you couldnt do that you would take your case to court.But now you have the FED stepping in and playing debt buyer and collector and even if you had fraud in your origination or fraud in other areas including robo-signing and so on the courts are not trying to hear it and there saying its for economic recovery and we all know thats a crock of …t and yet no one is getting up off there ass and taking to the streets[except the Ocuppy folks]so we are all allowing the fraud to carry on.I personally was frightened of the prospect of Mitt the Tits becoming prez but guess what???????He was correct about keeping gov out of private biz affairs and a perfect example of the greed and corruption and pay-off’s to gov officials-2003,Wells Fargo gets kicked out of Ca for fraudulent biz practices and misleading biz practices and comes back that same year as a NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,wtf is that?NA ok,now we can carry on the same fraud backed by the full faith of The United States of America.What B.S. and I love this country and have lived in many others but lets get real here playing debt collector will not fix the economy it only prolongs the agony.
So, we bailed em out… the first time was probably enough topay off every middle class mortgage in existence… then we bailed em out again… and now we’re givin them $85 BILLION + a month! Tell me folks… just what is moral hazaerd if this isn’t?
You said brother,keep milking the taxpayers till theres no milk left,then you can control everyone.
Oops.You said it brother[kinda forgot the it part]
HSBC Bank. This is an outrage: http://www.RollingStone.com/