Fed Could Be Open to More Stimulus

U.S. policy makers might be inclined to extend the stimulus for three more years if the economy is slowed down any further. In a meeting in Washington Wednesday, members of the Federal Open Market Committee suggested that the Fed should relax its policy a little in an effort to stabilize prices and increase employment. "You have a majority to do a lot more with even a small downward revision in the forecast," said a former associate director of the Fed Board's Division of International Finance. Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke and others already extended their stimulus program through the end of the year but have been debating whether a third round of quantitative easing might be necessary.