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Fed unlikely to curtail stimulus despite rising doubts
U.S. Federal Reserve officials are likely to press on with their bond-buying stimulus program even though some harbour growing concerns the purchases could fuel an asset bubble or inflation if pushed too far.
A full-throated debate among U.S. central bankers over the wisdom of ongoing quantitative easing, or QE, sent U.S. stock prices down sharply when minutes of the meeting were released on Wednesday.
Investors were right to assume the Fed is treading more carefully as it weighs the risks of its effort to spur a faster economic recovery, but that does not mean policymakers will conclude the costs outweigh the benefits.
Indeed, the officials who have voiced the greatest angst over the central bank’s course do not currently have a vote on the policy-setting panel and the Fed’s two most influential officials – Chairman Ben Bernanke and Vice Chairman Janet Yellen – are seen as committed to the bond-buying plan.
Source: Reuters
Poll: GOP losing sequester blame game
Thanks to Republican unwillingness to compromise on deficit reduction legislation, the looming budget sequester has basically turned into a blame game. And according to a new poll from USA Today and Pew, they are losing:
Texas GOP Chair: State Could Be In Play In 2016 If Hillary Runs
It’s been more than three decades since Texas went blue in a presidential election, but a top Republican there fears that the GOP may not have the state’s 38 electoral votes in the bag in 2016 if Hillary Clinton is at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Steve Munisteri, chairman of the Texas GOP, told Real Clear Politics in a story published Friday that Clinton would strip the state of its “solid Republican” status and insisted that national Republicans are taking her candidacy seriously — even in the crimson red Lone Star State.
“If she’s the nominee, I would say that this is a ‘lean Republican state’ but not a ‘solid Republican state,’” Munisteri said. “I dont know anyone nationally who’s scoffing at this. The national party leadership is aware and tells me they’re taking it seriously.”
A survey released late last month from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling showed Clinton more than holding her own in Texas when matched up against potential 2016 contenders such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). Democrats have not carried Texas in a presidential election since 1976, when former President Jimmy Carter won the state.
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Source: TPM
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