Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech could shake and rattle markets

Whether the Federal Reserve likes it or not, its unprecedented monetary polices over the last few years have conditioned the financial markets to expect a helping hand when the going gets tough. That's why all eyes will be on Ben Bernanke, the central bank's chairman, when he speaks Friday at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, according to Reuters.

With the stock market mired in a month-long slump and both the U.S. and euro zone economies in danger of sliding into recession, investors are bracing for a possible repeat of last year's performance, when Bernanke hinted the Fed would act if conditions deteriorated. Two months later, the central bank began pumping $600 billion into the financial system through direct purchases of Treasury debt, a second round of stimulus that markets dubbed "QE2." While the jury's still out on how effective these purchases have been, few are ready to rule out QE3 entirely…..

Read more at
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/08/24/idINIndia-58939220110824

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