Bernanke remarks seemed to leave two questions: What exactly will the Fed do? And when?
Bernanke described the U.S. economy’s health as “far from satisfactory” and noted that the unemployment rate, now 8.3 percent, hasn’t declined since January.
He stopped short of committing the Fed to any specific move. But in his speech to an annual Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Bernanke said that even with interest rates already at super-lows, the Fed can do more.
He acknowledged critics’ arguments that further Fed action could fan inflation and inject other risks. Yet after raising such arguments, Bernanke proceeded to knock them down.
Some economists predict the Fed will unveil some bold new step as soon as its Sept. 12-13 meeting, possibly a third round of bond purchases meant to lower long-term interest rates and encourage more borrowing and spending. That policy is called “quantitative easing,” or QE.