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In testimony before the U.S. Congress Fed chairwoman Yellen says the softer spending and expected lower gowth of 2% for the 1st quarter of 2014 is due to adverse weather. The Fed sees no reason to change course on its reduced bond buying. If this were to change she is open to reconsidering the course of action.

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New rules enacted after the Reserve Primary Fund broke the buck in the 2008 financial crisis would help prevent another problem for money market funds. Money market funds must keep 30 percent of their holdings in securities that can be converted into cash in 7 days. Another factor mitigating the impact of U.S. money market funds holding about 50% of their assets in European bank debt, is the action taken by the money market funds to reduce their holdings of this debt and shorten maturities. According to S&P estimates of the 500 U.S. and European money market funds rated by S&P, 80% of European bank holdings is limited to 3 months or less, and 95% to 6 months or less. Vanguard's chief investment officer says the situation would have to be one of a very rapid decline, and not just Greece but also impacting Spain and Italy for these debt holdings to result in losses for U.S. money funds.

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Bernanke made a defense of the Fed's $600 billion monetary policy move in a Washington Post op-ed piece. He stated that the Fed's move had already led to a rise in the stock market, and this is how it would start "a virtuous circle" that would lead to a recovery of the US economy. Questions raised about the risk that this virtuous circle could go in reverse if gridlock shows no progress in Washington's political establishment.

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A decline in the Philadelphia Fed's and Richmond Fed's regional manufacturing index for August 2011.

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The Bernanke Fed's decision on Sept. 16, 2013 to continue the pace of bond purchases is seen with relief in emerging markets and taken positively by equity markets worldwide. The Fed's decision is based on evidence of sluggishness in the economy and in the pace of job growth, as well as the likelihood of more political uncertainty about the budget because of sharp differences between Democrats and Republicans.

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The U.S. Fed publishes a 38 page policy statement in Nov. 2013 on procedures and guidelines for stress tests of U.S. banks. Efforts to increase clarity for stress tests. Outlines for three scenarios- baseline, adverse and severely adverse.

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Three regional Fed bank presidents have expressed skepticism of the Fed plan to buy medium to long term Treasury bonds- they are Kocherlakota of Minneapolis Fed, Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed, and Plosser of the Philadelphia Fed. There are 12 regional Fed banks, and five voting seats on the Federal Open Market Committee rotate for the 12 Fed bank presidents. Opposition to Bernanke will increase as these presidents take voting positions in the Fed Open Market Committee. The Wall Street Journal reports that there is deep skepticism about Bernanke's plan among some of his colleagues. Thomas Hoenig of the Kansas City Fed says that more expansive monetary policy was "a bargain with the devil." The Fed's plan is to take a measured approach with U.S. Treasury bond purchases with maturities between 2 and 10 years. A WSJ survey of private sector economists in October 2010 found that the Fed is expected to purchase about $250 billion of Treasury bonds each quarter, and continue till mid 2011, amounting to $750 billion in all. By pushing down Treasury yields the Fed hopes to have an impact on the federal funds rate of one-half to three-quarter percentage point impact for $500 billon of bond purchases, says Dudley, President of the New York Fed. Treasury yields on the 10 year note have fallen from 4% in April to 2.6% partly in anticipation of Fed's action. The previous Fed intervention in March 2009 was a program to buy $1.75 trillion of Treasury and mortgage bonds over 6-9 months. This time the approach will be careful and measured based on results, according to the Fed. Alan Blinder, former vice chairman of the Fed, says this is the tool less preferred and of unknown effectiveness, as fiscal tools would be the preferred choice. The deficit concerns, he says, have restricted the preferred option....

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Republicans coordinate efforts of economists, public official, and past economic policy makers, in their opposition to the Federal Reserve's decision for $600 billion of quantitative easing. This is perceived as an effort to print money and reduce the value of the dollar, without really addressing the problems in the economy. This includes Michael Boskin, John Taylor, Kevin Hassett, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, David Malpass, and members of a conservative think tank named e21. Liberal economists Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz are also not convinced about the effectiveness of the Fed's move in the absence of other action. Failure to agree on policy restricts other policy options.

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Fed Governor Daniel Rarullo emphasizes the need for transparency and release to the public of stress test information. The goal he says is to release "this kind of standardized comparable information on a regular basis so that it's not a momentous event."