Business
The Fed's Decision: Twist and Shout!
We all know how sluggish the global economy is right now, but what is all this talk of the Fed's big announcement? Will we see employment rates go up and interest rates go down? No need to sift through the nitty-gritty details-- we Storify'd the whole thing! And no, we're not twisting your leg.
- The Federal Reserve decided today whether they will extend Operation Twist beyond $400 billion to spur growth and buy protection from the perpetuating economic crisis in Europe. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and the Federal Open Market committee have been in a two-day policy meeting and today revealed their decision.
There has been plenty of speculation in the Twitterverse on this big decision: - At 12:30pm ET, the announcements begin:
- Operation Twist? What an odd name for a Federal Government stimulus program.
"Operation Twist" - - sounds like an intriguing plot from a suspense novel. But actually, it is an economic... fb.me/1PiF0gzg7- Want to know exactly what Operation Twist is? Look no further:
What is 'Operation Twist'? A Q&A on US Fed programWith hiring sluggish and the economy weakened, the Federal Reserve aimed to boost growth Wednesday by announcing an extension of a progra...- "Extending Operation Twist is the path of least resistance," said Josh Feinman, the New York-based global chief economist for DB Advisors. "It would be an extension of something we have in place, so it would be more seamless." An extension of Operation Twist is seen as a less extreme step compared to other options, such as: buying new securities or pushing back its estimate for when it will raise overnight interest rates which have been held near zero since 2008. "This continuation of the maturity extension program should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative,'' the Fed said in its post-meeting statement.
- Under the twist, the Fed sells shorter-term bonds and uses the money to buy longer-term Treasury bonds. It's designed to influence a longer-term interest rate.
- Reactions to the news?
The Fed statement is is pretty bearish. It's hard to believe that more of Op Twist is all it's going to do. federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pre…
Looking forward to @NYTimeskrugman 's angry column following today's hilariously awful FED decision. #IsThisRealLife
RT @aussietorres: RT @MorganStanley: Reinhart: Twist lite. Fed action falls short of expectations. Gloomier outlook required action. #fed- Extending Operation Twist might not provide much benefit, many Tweeters express. Long-term U.S. rates have already touched record lows.
smart reactions $FED RT @NourHammoury markets believe that the policy is powerless to stimulate the economy- this is very bad for stocks
