Pouring more gasoline on the fire (or, actually, quite the opposite), here is Goldman's Hatzius who confirms that anyone who wants their QuuEee3ee, will just have to wait.
Fed’s Bernanke Prepared Remarks: No Clear Easing Signal
BOTTOM LINE: Chairman Bernanke cautious on economy in prepared remarks but notes better signs lately in labor markets. Prepared statement offered no clear signal about further easing.
MAIN POINTS:
1. Fed Chairman Bernanke’s prepared remarks for the semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress were most notable for what he did not say. In particular, the Chairman gave no clear signal that the committee is considering further monetary easing in the near future. Comments on monetary policy were mostly backward-looking, reviewing some of the communication changes that took place at the January meeting. He remarks did clarify that “exceptionally low” still means zero to 25bp, one of the questions that was raised after the last meeting: “The target range for the federal funds rate remains at 0 to 1/4 percent, and the forward guidance language in the FOMC policy statement provides an indication of how long the Committee expects that target range to be appropriate” (emphasis added).
2. On his description of the economy the Chairman was relatively cautious, saying that growth had been “uneven and modest”, but he did note positive developments in the labor market. He said, for example, that the drop in the unemployment rate was “somewhat more rapid than might have been expected”. He mentioned later in the remarks that there had been “somewhat different signals” recently about growth, and that the committee will need to evaluate incoming information about the pace of the recovery.
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