“Markets appeared to ignore his assertion that the Fed’s key federal funds rate, at 0.0-0.25 percent since December 2008, would not rise before 2015. Interest rates jumped more than a full percentage point in two months, pushing mortgage rates suddenly higher, raising concerns they could snuff out the housing market recovery, one of the few bright spots in the sluggish economy. In later comments, particularly two days of twice-yearly testimony to Congress in mid-July, Bernanke sought to assure markets that the near-zero interest rate would stay put for a while, given the ‘weak’ economy. ‘If we were to tighten policy, the economy would tank,’ he told lawmakers.”
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