UPDATE: Key Points From Hilsenrath Article "Fed Affirms Easy-Money Tilt," "Overall Message Is Accommodation"

Wall Street Journal Federal Reserve Correspondent Jon Hilsenrath published an article last night titled "Fed Affirms Easy-Money Tilt" in which he describes that Ben Bernanke's speech Wednesday was ao,ed at clarifying that easy-money policies are here to stay for the meantime.

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to reassure jittery markets that while the central bank could start winding down its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program later this year, Fed officials aren't abandoning their broader commitment to easy-money policies."

On the FOMC minutes released yesterday, he wrote, "a number of officials worried about locking themselves into a position and some wanted more information about the economy before laying out a plan to start reducing the bond purchases. A few were concerned that inflation was getting so low that pulling back the program might be unwarranted."

"The minutes also showed that Fed officials appear largely in agreement that their decision on the bond program is separate and distinct from their decision-making on raising short-term rates, which have hovered near zero since late 2008. 'Many members indicated that decisions about the pace and composition of asset purchases were distinct from decisions about the appropriate level of the federal funds rate,' and that rates were likely to stay low for a considerable time after the bond program ends, the minutes said."

"Michael Hanson, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said he suspects the minutes overstate the real level of support to reduce and then stop the bond buying. The minutes may count the number of officials who adhere to a particular view, but that obscures the fact that key Fed officials such as Mr. Bernanke, Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen and New York Fed President William Dudley are still strongly committed to pressing forward with the program, and their views dominate the policy-making process."

"Mr. Bernanke on Wednesday repeated the message he and other Fed officials have tried to convey to markets since the volatility began: pulling back on bond-buying doesn't mean the Fed is going to move quickly or aggressively toward reining in its easy-money policies. He also held out the possibility that the Fed could keep the program going longer if inflation, now near 1%, doesn't return to the Fed's 2% target."

'Before the meeting, Fed officials submitted projections for the economy and also a description of the outlook for interest rates and the Fed's bond-buying program that they felt best suited the economic outlook. A summary of these projections described by the Fed in the minutes showed that 'bout half of these participants indicated that it likely would be appropriate to end asset purchases late this year.'"

"That was a more aggressive timetable than Mr. Bernanke ended up laying out in a news conference two days later. The minutes showed that officials articulated a variety of views in the meeting itself."

"'The overall message is accommodation,' he said Wednesday."