Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January indicates that the economy continues to contract. Job losses, declining equity and housing wealth, and tight credit conditions have weighed on consumer sentiment and spending. Weaker sales prospects and difficulties in obtaining credit have led businesses to cut back on inventories and fixed investment. U.S. exports have slumped as a number of major trading partners have also fallen into recession. Although the near-term economic outlook is weak, the Committee anticipates that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, together with fiscal and monetary stimulus, will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth.
In light of increasing economic slack here and abroad, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued. Moreover, the Committee sees some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.
In these circumstances, the Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote economic recovery and to preserve price stability. The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. To provide greater support to mortgage lending and housing markets, the Committee decided today to increase the size of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet further by purchasing up to an additional $750 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities, bringing its total purchases of these securities to up to $1.25 trillion this year, and to increase its purchases of agency debt this year by up to $100 billion to a total of up to $200 billion. Moreover, to help improve conditions in private credit markets, the Committee decided to purchase up to $300 billion of longer-term Treasury securities over the next six months. The Federal Reserve has launched the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses and anticipates that the range of eligible collateral for this facility is likely to be expanded to include other financial assets. The Committee will continue to carefully monitor the size and composition of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet in light of evolving financial and economic developments.
即:
1.維持聯邦利率在0-0.25%.
2.將藉由增加買進房貸擔保證券(mortgage-backed securities)7500億美元, 今年以來收購房利美（Fannie Mae）與房地美（Freddie Mac）的擔保債券總額達到1.25 兆美元。目的以降低房貸利率及振興房市.
3.並擴大收購「二房」發行的債券2000億美元. 比原先的1,000 億美元增加一倍至2,000 億美元.
4.為改善信用市場的情況, 在未來六個月將收購至多3,000億美元長期美國國債.
整體規模將上達1.15兆美元.
依wsj , 此訊息使得美國國債大幅上漲。10年期美國國債收益率錄得逾20年來的最大單日跌幅。
Fed成為今年繼英國央行(Bank of England)和日本央行(Bank of Japan)之後第三家收購政府債券以增加貨幣供應抗擊經濟衰退的主要央行。
