Bloomberg View: The Fed Needs to Be Bolder; Obama, Super-PAC Man
The Fed Needs to Be Bolder ● Super-PAC Man
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The economy is clearly recovering, but bad economic news continues to cancel out the good. Employers added 243,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Manufacturing growth picked up in January, too. But consumer confidence slipped. The housing market is still on its back. The Fed has lowered its forecast for growth this year and still thinks downside risks outweigh the upside.
It bears repeating: Further monetary easing is needed and abrupt fiscal tightening should be put on hold. The alternative would be to risk another round of one step forward, two steps back.