If the United States economy could talk, it would say this to national officials: "Washington, we have a problem." Actually, it might direct the comment to just the Federal Reserve, which is the United States' central bank. The Fed is meeting Tuesday and Wednesday at a time when another round of stimulus is being called for in order to galvanize a recovery that has been slowed by weak economic growth and tensions in the euro zone.
The Fed could even be forced to act as soon as today if the result of the Greece elections fuels fears that the country will abandon the euro, a circumstance that the globe's major central banks are anticipating, ready to react swiftly in order to quiet sudden fear with a quick stimulus.
If ultimately the Fed does not execute an emergency intervention, it will have several hours to decide if that is the right course to take. Because what's clear is that during a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a special group within the Fed that defines US monetary policy, committee members will hear a voice in the background saying "We want more stimuli!" Will the Fed heed to the public's demand? It's not impossible. "We remain totally prepared to take additional measures if necessary. Those tools are still on the table," said Ben Bernanke in a meeting held at the end of April. He restated this position two weeks ago.
