Fed’s Bullard Focuses on Economy Not Dates for Change

One day after the Federal Reserve put forth dates at which it might end $85 billion a month of bond purchases, a Fed policy maker instead described the economic conditions that may warrant a halt to the policy.

“Why are we talking about dates?” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who votes on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year, said in an interview with CNBC television. If unemployment falls near 7 percent it could prompt an end to the policy, he said.