Of course he did. He promised in confirmation hearings he'd "pump 'till the cows come home", if that's what it took to get the job.
of course, and the market loves it just like they loved it the last few times he took rates down, look back at the end of october when he reduced rates, the dow is down about 1000 points since that time, lowering the rates might add 3-4% on the averages but after that its most likely back down.
dollar is having a heart attack, he can pump all wants but if the dollar keeps falling it's nothing but zimbabwean growth (thanks stu )
One of these days the markets will call "bullshit", and sell on the phony-ness of the money pump. THEN what?
Bernanke Says Further `Policy Easing May Well Be Necessary' By Craig Torres and Scott Lanman Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said ``additional policy easing may well be necessary'' to offset ``downside risks'' to growth. ``In light of the recent changes in the outlook for and the risks to growth, additional policy easing may well be necessary,'' Bernanke said in his first speech on the economy since the Fed's Dec. 11 meeting. ``We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks.'' Bernanke's comments suggest the Federal Open Market Committee will cut interest rates further this month to reduce the risk of a recession. Wall Street analysts increasingly predict the economy will contract, and traders increased their rate-cut expectations after a report showing unemployment jumped in December. ``Incoming information has suggested that the baseline outlook for real activity in 2008 has worsened and the downside risks to growth have become more pronounced,'' Bernanke said in the text of his remarks to Women in Housing and Finance and Exchequer Club in Washington. ``A number of factors, including higher oil prices, lower equity prices, and softening home values, seem likely to weigh on consumer spending as we move into 2008.'' Central bankers are aiming to buttress the economy at a time when inflation is also accelerating, spurring what Philadelphia Fed Bank President Charles Plosser said Jan. 8 called ``a difficult time for monetary policy making.'' The Federal Open Market Committee has cut the benchmark rate 1 percentage point to 4.25 percent since September to offset the drag from tighter lending conditions and prolonged housing slump. Futures prices indicate a 68 percent chance of a half-point move, with 100 percent odds of at least a quarter-point reduction. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists yesterday predicted the Fed will lower the rate to 2.5 percent by year- end. The bank joined Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley in projecting a recession. In December, Fed officials didn't explicitly recognize downside risks to growth, saying increased ``uncertainty'' surrounded the outlook for growth and inflation.