Bernanke May Use Longer Meeting to Forge Consensus on Easing

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s decision to extend next month’s policy meeting to two days stoked speculation the extra time may allow him to forge a stronger consensus on monetary easing.

Bernanke, in a speech yesterday at the Fed’s annual forum in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said adding a second day to the September gathering would “allow a fuller discussion” of the slowing economy and the central bank’s possible response. He said the Fed still has tools to boost growth, without specifying what they were or whether they would be deployed.