The Fed's Economic Forecasts Are Already Looking Way Too Optimistic

Fed Chairman Bernanke used his appearance before the House and Senate finance committees as yet another opportunity to soft-pedal his original ill-conceived effort to explain the eventual winding down of QE. In doing so he emphasized the risks to the economy in the coming period and the FOMC's intention to keep monetary policy as accommodative as needed. His testimony had the intended effect of boosting the stock market, but was far less successful in talking down the long-term bond rate that is...