$600bn into the US economy

rootX

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11678022

Good time to buy US dollars?

turbo

Good time to hide, IMO.

NobodySpecial

Or a good time to sell them !

I'm only a humble physicist but can someone explain how it's good for a country to borrow $500Bn on top of $1.7Tn and hand it out to the people, who are going to have to pay it back one day, so that they can boost demand. Yet it's irresponsible to just give everyone a credit card with a $10,000 limit and tell them to enjoy themselves.

Ivan Seeking

Yes, this isn't a math equation. It is a matter of momentum.

No stimulus program can buy our way out of a recession. Everyone knows that.

By your logic, no business would ever invest in itself.

mugaliens

It's not. At all. Why folks continue to pour lead into the anchor of debt that's capsizing the ship is beyond everything I learned of economics.

talk2glenn

Your missing the point. The Fed isn't interested in inflation or exchange rates. It's concern is the yield curve (the interest rate). I'm guessing your English; the Federal Reserve is not like the ECB. It's mandate goes beyond inflation control - it is responsible for promoting long term economic growth while maintain a healthy inflation rate.

Consumers are still saving. This pushes yields up, which is the worst possible scenario (a so-called unhealthy yield curve has historically been a very reliable indicator of recession). The Fed will do anything it can (including risking significant long term inflation) to keep the yield curves healthy. A healthy yield curve is one which is directly related to coupon term - longer term bonds should have higher yields than shorter term bonds. An unhealthy yield curve has no or an inverse relationship between rate and term. The American yield curve inverted in late 2006. A healthy yield curve returned in 2009, due as much to actions by the Fed as the market.

The Fed's lingering concern is that, if it stops buying short term rates down, the yield curve will steepen and the market will collapse.

If you're interested in speculating on anything, then, it's stocks, but this is not financial advice.

This is not how it works. The Federal Reserve is not borrowing money, it's creating it. It is not giving it away, it is selling it (and buying Treasuries). The people who buy those dollars don't have to give them back later.

rootX

No, I was literal; only concerned about the consequences of this on the exchange rates.

WhoWee

Can you elaborate?

WhoWee

Here is another description...
http://www.businessinsider.com/dalls...zation-2010-11

"Dallas Fed Chief: The Fed Is Monetizing The Nation's Debt For The Next 8 Months"
"To dwell on a point: Most all the businesses I talk to are expanding investment in productivity enhancement. Far too few of the large companies I talk to report interest in hiring American workers or committing to large-scale CAPEX (capital expenditures) in the United States; they believe their potential for return on investment (ROI) is greater elsewhere. The smaller companies that do not have global options are putting off hiring until the coast is clear on the tax and regulatory fronts. This reticence intensified during the final innings of the election season, which begs the question of whether this will now change with the new Congress."

rootX

I read it was for inflation, didn't know yield curves could be reliable enough. I cannot recall at this moment, but I remember reading that yield curves are not good indication of future.

But, it can always take money out of the economy too.

Monique

Indeed, I'm still regretting that I didn't sell my dollars 7 years ago in 2003. At the time I thought the dollar could rise again to the level of 2002. I also regret not selling them in June this year and taking my money. I'm thinking of getting rid of the dollars now before they devalue even more (I'm already too late), or just sit out the ride and maybe 20 years from now they'll be worth some money again.

edit: inserted a 10Y graph.

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loseyourname

This was already mentioned, but just to clarify, the Fed buys existing debt. No new debt is issued for this program.

mheslep

Whether the Fed directly buys existing or new debt is irrelevant, as when the Fed buys existing debt from some third party seller tomorrow at the beginning of QE2, that seller is then enabled to buy more new debt from the Treasury at the auction of new 10yrs in two weeks.

mheslep

The Ber-nanke has spoken on the topic:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ng-on-us-debt/

WhoWee

Barney Frank (from your link) doesn't seem to like the idea of reduced spending?

mheslep

??? There is no comment from Rep. Frank in the article.

WhoWee

A picture is worth a thousand words?