Friday, August 31, 2012

Comparing the Fed's two recent policy statements


    Following are two recent statements regarding future monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
    While the statements largely mirror each other, the statement by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledges the limitations of monetary policy.
    The first paragraph is from Bernanke speech at the 2012 Jackson Hole symposium. The second paragraph comes from the press release issued by the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's policy-making body, following its last meeting on July 31/Aug. 1:

   From Bernanke's speech Aug. 31, 2012:
    "Over the past five years, the Federal Reserve has acted to support economic growth and foster job creation, and it is important to achieve further progress, particularly in the labor market. Taking due account of the uncertainties and limits of its policy tools, the Federal Reserve will provide additional policy accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability."

    Statement from the Federal Open Market Committee on Aug. 1, 2012:
    "The Committee will closely monitor incoming information on economic and financial developments and will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability."



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