US Macro

US Macro: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said policy makers are studying options for further easing that could be deployed in case economic growth remains too feeble to produce a lasting decline in unemployment. At last night’s Senate Banking Committee in Washington, Bernanke said easing tools include further purchases of assets, such as mortgage-backed securities, reducing the interest rate that the Fed pays on reserves banks keep with the Fed, and altering its communications on the outlook for interest rates. The Fed chairman also hinted at another option - the possibility of getting credit to banks through the Fed's discount window, which normally is used only for emergencies. But he added, the Fed “hasn’t really come to a specific choice at this point”. The Fed's next policy meeting is Jul 31 and Aug 1.