Helicopter Ben

The prospect of central banks "printing money" by purchasing government securities made September a month to remember.

In an article Barron's writes, "It's the electronic analog of dumping dollars from a helicopter, the Milton Friedman metaphor cited by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke in a speech last November that earned him the moniker "Helicopter Ben.""

Barron's goes on to say "The prospect of more quantitative easing was introduced by Bernanke in his speech at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole conference in late August, in which he suggested inflation may be lower than the Fed's preferred floor and it would take action if the economy didn't strengthen in accordance with its forecast. The Federal Open Market Committee seconded the chairman, that the Fed stood ready to take action while inflation was too low to meet the twin objectives of price stability and maximum employment."