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Superstar
By KRISTINA PETERSON And JON HILSENRATH
U.S. Federal Reserve officials extended through the end of the year a program meant to drive down long-term interest rates and signaled that they were "prepared to take further action" if needed amid heightened worry about the economy's performance.
By continuing the program, known as "Operation Twist," the Fed will buy $267 billion in long-term Treasury bonds and notes while it sells short-term Treasurys. The program had been set to expire this month.
The moves were largely what investors had expected heading into the meeting, after a stream of worried commentary by officials in recent weeks.
The Federal Open Market Committee in effect chose a middle ground by opting to continue a program that officials felt helped to drive down borrowing costs to spur investment and spending without creating inflation worries. The central bank stopped short of taking the more aggressive and controversial step of expanding their overall holdings of securities through a new bond-buying program known as "quantitative easing." But Fed officials suggested that they could move down that road, or take other steps, in the months ahead.
"The Committee is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability," the Fed said in its statement. That appeared to be a shift in the way the Fed describes its intentions. After an April meeting, officials said they would "adjust" their securities portfolio as needed without pointing to the possibility of further action.
Eleven out of 12 Fed officials voted to keep the central bank's easy-money policies in place. The Fed has said since January that it plans to keep short-term interest rates at "exceptionally low levels" at least through late 2014 and it did not alter that language.
The central bank has held short-term rates near zero since December 2008 in hopes of spurring spending and investment.
The original $400 billion Operation Twist program was first launched in September 2011 and was scheduled to wrap up at the end of June. The Fed will be buying Treasury securities with maturities ranging from six to 30 years, and selling securities with maturities of three years and less. By the time the program ends in December, it will have almost no holdings maturing through January 2016.
The Fed conveyed concerns over the economy, noting that the growth in employment "has slowed in recent months, and the unemployment rate remains elevated," and that household spending "appears to be rising at a somewhat slower pace than earlier in the year." Fed officials left unchanged their description of the overall economic growth as moderate. The Fed also reiterated its concern that strains in financial markets posed "significant downside risks" to growth. It noted that inflation has declined, largely because oil and gas prices have subsided. Long-term inflation expectations remained stable.
Investors said the Fed's action largely met market expectations, but some were skeptical of it doing much for the economy.
"It's doubtful that this will really help revitalize the U.S. economy, mainly because domestic demand remains weak and financial strains from Europe are likely to continue," said Tanweer Akram, senior economist with ING Investment Management.
Later this afternoon, the Fed will release updated forecasts for the economy and interest rates, to be followed by a press conference conducted by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at 2:15 p.m. ET.
The Fed forecasts could show slightly lower expectations for the pace of the recovery this year, as economic data have largely been weaker than expected since the Fed's last policy meeting in late April.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker voted against the committee's action on Wednesday because he "opposed continuation of the maturity extension program," according to the statement. Mr. Lacker has dissented at all four FOMC meetings this year.
This week's FOMC meeting was the first for the two newest members of the Fed's board, governors Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell. All seven Fed governors vote at every policy meeting, as does the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley.
The presidents of the 11 other regional Fed banks vote on a rotating basis. This year, in addition to Mr. Lacker, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed President John Williams can vote.
Fed Extends Operation Twist - WSJ.com
U.S. Federal Reserve officials extended through the end of the year a program meant to drive down long-term interest rates and signaled that they were "prepared to take further action" if needed amid heightened worry about the economy's performance.
By continuing the program, known as "Operation Twist," the Fed will buy $267 billion in long-term Treasury bonds and notes while it sells short-term Treasurys. The program had been set to expire this month.
The moves were largely what investors had expected heading into the meeting, after a stream of worried commentary by officials in recent weeks.
The Federal Open Market Committee in effect chose a middle ground by opting to continue a program that officials felt helped to drive down borrowing costs to spur investment and spending without creating inflation worries. The central bank stopped short of taking the more aggressive and controversial step of expanding their overall holdings of securities through a new bond-buying program known as "quantitative easing." But Fed officials suggested that they could move down that road, or take other steps, in the months ahead.
"The Committee is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability," the Fed said in its statement. That appeared to be a shift in the way the Fed describes its intentions. After an April meeting, officials said they would "adjust" their securities portfolio as needed without pointing to the possibility of further action.
Eleven out of 12 Fed officials voted to keep the central bank's easy-money policies in place. The Fed has said since January that it plans to keep short-term interest rates at "exceptionally low levels" at least through late 2014 and it did not alter that language.
The central bank has held short-term rates near zero since December 2008 in hopes of spurring spending and investment.
The original $400 billion Operation Twist program was first launched in September 2011 and was scheduled to wrap up at the end of June. The Fed will be buying Treasury securities with maturities ranging from six to 30 years, and selling securities with maturities of three years and less. By the time the program ends in December, it will have almost no holdings maturing through January 2016.
The Fed conveyed concerns over the economy, noting that the growth in employment "has slowed in recent months, and the unemployment rate remains elevated," and that household spending "appears to be rising at a somewhat slower pace than earlier in the year." Fed officials left unchanged their description of the overall economic growth as moderate. The Fed also reiterated its concern that strains in financial markets posed "significant downside risks" to growth. It noted that inflation has declined, largely because oil and gas prices have subsided. Long-term inflation expectations remained stable.
Investors said the Fed's action largely met market expectations, but some were skeptical of it doing much for the economy.
"It's doubtful that this will really help revitalize the U.S. economy, mainly because domestic demand remains weak and financial strains from Europe are likely to continue," said Tanweer Akram, senior economist with ING Investment Management.
Later this afternoon, the Fed will release updated forecasts for the economy and interest rates, to be followed by a press conference conducted by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at 2:15 p.m. ET.
The Fed forecasts could show slightly lower expectations for the pace of the recovery this year, as economic data have largely been weaker than expected since the Fed's last policy meeting in late April.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker voted against the committee's action on Wednesday because he "opposed continuation of the maturity extension program," according to the statement. Mr. Lacker has dissented at all four FOMC meetings this year.
This week's FOMC meeting was the first for the two newest members of the Fed's board, governors Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell. All seven Fed governors vote at every policy meeting, as does the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley.
The presidents of the 11 other regional Fed banks vote on a rotating basis. This year, in addition to Mr. Lacker, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed President John Williams can vote.
Fed Extends Operation Twist - WSJ.com