The Federal Reserve has given the markets all it hoped for and more: unlimited quantitative easing (QE3), in the form of $40bn a month of mortgage bond purchases, an extension into 2015 of the zero-rate forecast, and a change in the reaction function to say the Fed won’t raise rates until an economic recovery is well under way.
Is this Ben Bernanke’s final shot? His own words suggest not. Here’s a handy checklist of what he’s done so far, and what could be to come, as set out in his 2002 speech on how to fight deflation. These are in the order he set them out in the speech, rather than the order in which they’ve been tried so far. Read more
James Mackintosh is the Financial Times' Investment Editor, writing and presenting the daily Short View column and video. In 16 years at the FT his posts have included comment editor, motor industry editor and hedge funds correspondent, as well as spells in the Parliamentary lobby and Paris. He was the first reporter hired for FT.com, joining two weeks before it launched.
John Authers is the Financial Times' Senior Investment Columnist, writing the Saturday Long View and a regular Monday column. In a 22-year career at the FT, his previous posts have included global head of the Lex column, investment editor, US markets editor, Mexico City bureau chief and US banking correspondent. His latest book is The Fearful Rise of Markets. 