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Fed takes fresh steps to support fragile recovery
Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 8/10/10 | Pedro da Costa and Mark Felsenthal

Posted on 08/10/2010 1:17:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Tuesday took fresh steps to lower borrowing costs amid a softening economic recovery, announcing it would use proceeds from its maturing mortgage bonds to buy more government debt.

The decision to reinvest proceeds from the more than $1.3 trillion in mortgage-related debt the Fed holds, an effort to keep market-set borrowing costs down, represents a significant policy shift. Just a few months ago, the central bank had been avidly debating an exit strategy from the extraordinary stimulus delivered during the financial crisis.

"To help support the economic recovery in a context of price stability, the committee will keep constant the Federal Reserve's holdings of securities at their current level by reinvesting principal payments from agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in longer-term Treasury securities," the Fed said in a statement.

The move was somewhat surprising. Although many analysts and investors had expected the Fed to announce it was reinvesting the mortgage proceeds, most had thought it would buy more mortgage debt instead of government bonds.

Some analysts believe the Fed will end up having to go further in coming months and restart its shuttered program of outright asset purchases.

...

The Fed also left benchmark overnight interest rates steady in a zero to 0.25 percent range, and renewed its pledge to keep them low for an extended period.

U.S. stocks trimmed losses on the announcement, while prices for U.S. government debt rose, .. The dollar fell against both the euro and the yen.

In their statement at the close of a one-day meeting, Fed officials offered a more gloomy outlook for the economy, saying the recovery in output and employment "has slowed in recent months." When it last met in late June, it said the recovery was "proceeding."

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bernanke; fed; fragile; freshsteps; recovery

1 posted on 08/10/2010 1:17:55 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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It’s been a real cool ‘Recovery Summer’ for many here on the Left Coast..


2 posted on 08/10/2010 1:19:04 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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Dump You Know Who and watch the market and economy take off.

His approval rating?


3 posted on 08/10/2010 1:21:15 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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Can one man and his agenda wreck an economy?

.

US President Barack Obama arrives on stage to speak on higher education and the economy at the University of Texas in Austin. The Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting panel will meet Tuesday, under pressure to bolster a weak economic recovery that many fear is grinding to a halt. (AFP/Jewel Samad)

---

An Obama economy, not Bush's ..


4 posted on 08/10/2010 1:24:07 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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To: NormsRevenge

“Can one man and his agenda wreck an economy?”

Dare I say, yes he can.

The only thing this dick has been successful at is messing up the American economy.


5 posted on 08/10/2010 1:29:07 PM PDT by RickB444 (Beat your sword into plowshares, but wined up plowing the fields of someone who kept their sword.)
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To: NormsRevenge
Dump You Know Who and watch the market and economy take off.

I think it will after the November elections if the expected bloodbath takes place - or at least the market.

6 posted on 08/10/2010 1:35:55 PM PDT by Oatka ("A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." –Bertrand de Jouvenel)
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To: NormsRevenge

Yeah Baraq, if the economy’s so hot, why are all the state tax receipts down so much?


7 posted on 08/10/2010 1:41:31 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: NormsRevenge

Keeping the interest rates down doesn’t have one damn thing to do with economic recovery. It has everything to do with a 1.5 TRILLION DOLLAR deficit.


8 posted on 08/10/2010 1:57:58 PM PDT by henkster (A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
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To: nascarnation

The Tulsa World had an article about the decline in income in many metro areas, including Tulsa. Some ding-a-ling commented that it was because OK is a Republican state. I kid you not. There are still true believers out there who will swallow all the lies the libs tell.


9 posted on 08/10/2010 2:17:08 PM PDT by Pining_4_TX
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To: NormsRevenge

Use debt to buy more debt. Imbeciles...


10 posted on 08/10/2010 2:21:02 PM PDT by Lurker (The avalanche has begun. The pebbles no longer have a vote.)
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To: NormsRevenge


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

11 posted on 08/10/2010 3:01:52 PM PDT by The Comedian (Evil can only succeed if good men don't point at it and laugh.)
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To: NormsRevenge

They are insane. Cost of borrowing is historically low and not the problem. The Fed pushing on strings is the problem. You can lead a debtor to credit but you can’t make him borrow.


12 posted on 08/10/2010 4:19:04 PM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (California Bankruptcy in 4... 3... 2...)
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To: henkster

Keeping the interest rates down does have an effect on the economy. Everyone with an outstanding adjustable-rate mortgage is benefitting from the low interest rates. There are plenty of people who would be in default right now if the interest rates weren’t so low.


13 posted on 08/10/2010 4:21:33 PM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (California Bankruptcy in 4... 3... 2...)
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To: Freedom_Is_Not_Free

I probably should have written my post better. It was directed more at motivation rather than effect. I don’t think the fed is motivated by desires to spur the economy as a reason to keep interest rates down. I think they care much more about keeping interest rates down so the government can run higher deficits at less cost.


14 posted on 08/11/2010 6:08:59 AM PDT by henkster (A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Sure, They are printing more money.


15 posted on 08/11/2010 7:28:58 AM PDT by upcountryhorseman (An old fashioned conservative)
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