Europe's problems are weighing down the U.S. recovery, and there's renewed pressure on the Federal Reserve to do more to spark hiring after three months of poor results and signs of new stress in the weekly numbers for first-time unemployment claims.
Arguments from Fed governors "in favor of doing something are going to be delivered more forcefully than they were before," Kohn said, declining to predict what might be announced Wednesday at the end of a two-day Fed meeting.
Many Fed analysts, however, expect it to announce the extension of a $400 billion bond-buying program called Operation Twist, now set to expire this month.
Under Twist, the Fed has been selling short-term securities and buying longer-term ones with the intent of driving down the interest rate the government pays on its bonds of longer duration. That could lower borrowing costs for a start-up business, and for consumers when buying homes, cars or taking out other long-term loans.
Analysts are speculating that the Fed could sell short-term bonds and purchase bonds backed by pools of mortgages Wednesday, helping to stimulate the sluggish housing sector and make it easier for Americans to buy and sell homes.
For investors, it's one more sign of a confusing landscape.
"Like extreme sports, investing has become a death-defying undertaking," Ed Yardeni, a veteran Wall Street analyst, said in a note to investors Monday. "Don't you miss the good old days when investing was about investing?"
Arguments from Fed governors "in favor of doing something are going to be delivered more forcefully than they were before," Kohn said, declining to predict what might be announced Wednesday at the end of a two-day Fed meeting.
Many Fed analysts, however, expect it to announce the extension of a $400 billion bond-buying program called Operation Twist, now set to expire this month.
Under Twist, the Fed has been selling short-term securities and buying longer-term ones with the intent of driving down the interest rate the government pays on its bonds of longer duration. That could lower borrowing costs for a start-up business, and for consumers when buying homes, cars or taking out other long-term loans.
Analysts are speculating that the Fed could sell short-term bonds and purchase bonds backed by pools of mortgages Wednesday, helping to stimulate the sluggish housing sector and make it easier for Americans to buy and sell homes.
For investors, it's one more sign of a confusing landscape.
"Like extreme sports, investing has become a death-defying undertaking," Ed Yardeni, a veteran Wall Street analyst, said in a note to investors Monday. "Don't you miss the good old days when investing was about investing?"
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