Bernanke Prepares to Step Off the Gas: Why Now?

The Fed chairman Ben Bernanke spooked the markets on Wednesday by confirming that the Federal Reserve is getting ready to draw down its policy of pumping tens of billions of dollars into the bond market each month—a strategy known as quantitative easing. After Bernanke spoke, the Dow closed down about two hundred points and interest rates rose slightly as the bond market sold off.

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