- FOMC concerned restrictive fiscal policies will slow econ growth
- Purchases continue to provide meaningful suport
- Thorough discussions on risks and costs of asset buys
- Considered risks to future remittances to treasury
- Committee decided risk are manageable
- Crossing thresholds in forecasts will not automatically lead to rate hikes.
On to Q&A;
- Not able to give threshold for QE but may adjust flow rate m/m in line with economy.
- Will not give specific levels of improvement that would reduce flow rate of asset buys. Keeping assesment broadbased.
- On Cyprus: Situation difficult but doesn’t see major risk to the US. Impact so far not enormous.
- Still needs to be active to improve employment.
- In doing so,wants to ensure they don’t get into excessive risks.
- Number of colleagues are concerned about financial stability
- Too big to fail not solved yet.
- If goal not achieved will have to take additional steps.
- Concerned about mortgage regulation may have tightened credit in market
- On stock market rises is he worried about bubbles? Not measuring success on stock prices.
- Doesn’t see patterns out of line historically in stocks
- Profits v earnings ratios not unusual at the moment.
- Fiscal restraint reason for aggressive policy.
- How to balance low growth forecasts with job creation? Have to watch how things go and keep trying to prop up the economy.
- Any feeling whether enough is being done and whether further accommodation is possible? Can always increase but becomes difficult to do so.
- One tool for stimulus is to lowering the unemployment rate threshold
Going to leave it for now unless anything major pops up.