Bernanke: No Formal News

Posted July 17, 2012 by Editor

[private]Though certainly accentuating the negatives in the economic situation, Chairman Bernanke’s very brief formal testimony breaks no new ground in the portrayal of FOMC thinking.  He holds to the normal custom of simply stating the main points made by the Committee in its last meeting–emphasizing that the group “is prepared to take further action as appropriate…” Given the absence of any direct new policy information in the text, the likelihood that any will come in the Q&A is very small.  Rather, whatever news comes will be in the form of insights into the Fed’s understanding of the economy and hints as to its assessments of risk–and, perhaps any changes in them since the FOMC meeting.[/private]