So far markets haven’t much responded to the long-dreaded announcement by the Federal Reserve Board today that it plans to “taper” stimulative bond-purchasing in January. It is, to be sure, a slow “taper,” from $85 billion to $75 billion. But still, with the economy remaining shaky and fiscal stimulus pretty much off the table, it’s a big move. Let’s hope it’s not accompanied by panic and that Ben Bernanke makes it clear the Fed’s not going all austericratic on us.
Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.
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