Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen spoke earlier with not much reference to the economy nor monetary policy
- Fed's Yellen Q&A now: New tools for the Fed not a pressing issue right now
- Fed's Yellen speaking - no comments on monetary policy nor eco outlook
But she did make reference to the potential benefits to allowing the Fed to buy equities or corporate bonds in the event of a downturn. It was in reply to an audience question
- "There could be benefits to the ability to buy either equities or corporate bonds
- There would also be costs as well that would have to be carefully considered in deciding whether that would be a good idea."
Just making note of this, as at present the Federal Reserve is not able to directly buy stocks, it would require a law change passed by Congress. The BOJ and SNB are able to buy stocks and ETFs.
Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have more (Journal may be gated)
