- WASHINGTON -- Some Federal Reserve officials are open to raising the amounts of mortgage and Treasury securities purchase programs beyond the $1.75 trillion that they have already committed to buying, according to minutes from the Fed’s April meeting.
Officials, meanwhile, projected an even deeper recession than they expected three months earlier and a more sluggish recovery over the next two years as labor markets remain under pressure.
“Some members noted that a further increase in the total amount of purchases might well be warranted at some point to spur a more rapid pace of recovery,” according to the minutes of the April 28-29 meeting, released Wednesday with the usual lag. (Read the full minutes.)
As widely expected, the Fed kept the target federal funds for interbank lending in a range near zero at that meeting. In a statement, officials said rates will stay “exceptionally low...for an extended period” suggesting rates could stay where they are into next year.
Which is of course the worst thing they could do. Full story...
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