Let's 'Twist' Again: Fed Extends Bond Buying Program

Originally published on Fox Business The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its monetary stimulus to a U.S. economic recovery that looks at risk of stalling, renewing its effort to depress borrowing costs by selling short-term bonds to buy longer-dated ones. Expressing concern about strains in global financial markets emanating from Europe, the Fed said it was extending its Operation Twist program by buying $267 billion in longer-dated securities by the end of 2012. The Fed's first Twist program was set to end this month. "This continuation of the maturity extension program should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative," the Fed said in its post-meeting statement. The Fed added that for the duration of the new program, it would stop reinvesting the proceeds from maturing Treasuries in its portfolio. Continue reading this article here.