Bernanke Takes Away the M&Ms, but Leaves the Snickers Bars

If you’re a bit confused about what the Federal Reserve did on Wednesday, don’t feel too bad about it—so are some of the experts. During a CNBC segment just after Chairman Ben Bernanke’s press conference (his last before handing the reins of the central bank to Janet Yellen), one panelist described the Fed’s decision to begin “tapering” as “hawkish,” while another said that it was “very dovish.” The two terms are ordinarily polar opposites: the former refers to policymakers whose primary worry is inflation, and who tend toward higher interest rates; the latter is applied to those who care primarily about unemployment, and who tend to support lower rates.

So which of the panelists was right? Why did Wall Street celebrate the Fed’s announcement by bidding the stock market up to another record close? And what the heck is “tapering” anyway?

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