- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke walked with Fed Gov. Donald Kohn on Fridayoutside the Jackson Lake Lodge before the opening session of the Kansas City Fed’s annual symposium near Jackson Hole, Wyo. in August 2010.
- BLOOMBERG NEWS
The recession was over in 2010, but the Federal Reserve’s work had just begun. The U.S. central bank confronted stubbornly high unemployment and sluggish economic growth at home and financial strains emanating from Europe, where the Greek debt crisis was emerging as a major concern for the eurozone.
The Fed held short-term interest rates near zero through the year. After months of internal debate, Chairman Ben Bernanke in November won support for a $600 billion bond-buying program a second round of quantitative easing aimed at stimulating the economy.
The Fed also saw personnel changes in 2010, including the departure of Vice Chairman Donald Kohn. He was succeeded by Janet Yellen, previously the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s president.
The central bank’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee held 10 policy meetings in 2010, including two unscheduled gatherings. Transcripts of those meetings are now available on the Fed’s website.
To refresh readers’ memories of that hectic year, we provide below a timeline of key Fed-related events in 2010.
Jan. 26-27
- The FOMC meets in Washington
Jan. 28
- Senate votes 70-30 to confirm Mr. Bernanke for a second term as Fed chairman
Feb. 1
- Fed closes several of its financial crisis-era emergency liquidity programs and its temporary swap lines with other central banks
Feb. 3
- Mr. Bernanke formally sworn in for his second term
March 1
- Mr. Kohn announces he will step down when his term ends in June
March 16
- The FOMC meets in Washington and announces that its first round of asset purchases will conclude by the end of the month
April 23
- Greece’s government asks European authorities for a bailout
April 27-28
- The FOMC meets in Washington
April 29
- President Barack Obama announces he will nominate Ms. Yellen to become vice chairwoman of the Fed. Mr. Obama also nominates Sarah Bloom Raskin and Peter Diamond for seats on the Fed board of governors
May 2
- The eurozone and the International Monetary Fund agree to a €110 billion, three-year loan package for Greece
May 9
- The FOMC holds an unscheduled meeting by conference call and announces the Fed will reopen swap lines with the European Central Bank and other central banks in response to financial-market strains in Europe
May 20
- U.S. Senate votes 59-39 to pass Dodd-Frank financial-regulation-overhaul legislation; the House passed its version in late 2009
June 11
- Mr. Kohn announces he will remain at the Fed through August while Ms. Yellen awaits Senate confirmation
June 22-23
- The FOMC meets in Washington
July 21
- Mr. Obama signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law, including many provisions affecting the Fed
Aug. 10
- The FOMC meets in Washington and announces it will keep its balance sheet from shrinking by reinvesting proceeds of maturing assets
Aug. 27
- Mr. Bernanke, speaking at the Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., signals the Fed may take further action to support the economy by saying that “policy options are available to provide additional stimulus.”
Sept. 20
- The National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee officially declares that the U.S. recession ended in June 2009
Sept. 21
- The FOMC meets in Washington
Sept. 29
- U.S. Senate votes to confirm Ms. Yellen and Ms. Raskin, who formally take office on Oct. 4
Oct. 15
- The FOMC holds an unscheduled meeting by videoconference
Nov. 2-3
- The FOMC meets in Washington
Nov. 3
- The Fed announces it will buy $600 billion of U.S. government bonds, launching a second round of quantitative easing in response to the financial crisis and sluggish recovery
Nov. 15
- Prominent Republican-leaning economists send an open letter to Mr. Bernanke warning that the Fed’s bond purchases “risk currency debasement and inflation“
Dec. 14
- The FOMC meets in Washington
from Real Time Economics http://ift.tt/1nnGDB8
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