U.S. Fed minutes show more urgency for monetary easing

 WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua)-- The U.S. Federal Reserve would lean more close toward new stimulus¹ actions unless incoming information signifies a substantial strengthening in the economic recovery, the central bank's policy meeting minutes showed on Wednesday.

"Many members judged that additional monetary² accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon unless incoming information pointed³ to a substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery," the Fed noted⁴ in minutes released on Wednesday for a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held from July 31 to Aug. 1.

In their discussion for future policy action, a number of Fed policy officials indicated that additional accommodation could help foster a more rapid improvement in labor⁵ market conditions when inflation pressures were likely to be subdued⁶.

Several FOMC members said the benefits of gathering⁷ further information that could help clarify the economic outlook and inflation as well as the need for further policy action, according to the minutes.

The Fed officials agreed that they would closely monitor economic and financial developments and carefully weigh the potential benefits and costs of various tools in assessing whether additional policy action would be warranted.

At its last meeting, the Fed did not pull the trigger to save the economy, but left the door open for additional measures.

In June, the central bank decided⁸ to extend through the end of the year the Operation Twist, a program intended to push down long- term interest rates. The minutes for the June meeting showed divergence⁹ on whether a new round of quantitative¹⁰ easing, dubbed¹¹ QE3, was warranted, as only "a few members" favored further stimulus.

The minutes released on Wednesday signaled growing support within the Fed on new steps of monetary easing.

The Fed officials said the information received over the intermeeting period indicated that economic activity had decelerated in recent months, with a notable slowing in consumer spending.

The FOMC members generally expected that the economic growth would be moderate over coming quarters and then would pick up very gradually.

While most members did not view the medium-run economic outlook as having changed significantly since the June meeting, several members had lowered their expectations for economic growth over coming quarters.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would give speech next week at the annual economic symposium¹² conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from which the investors¹³ are likely to get clue on the Fed's policy intentions.

The FOMC's next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12-13. The market expected that the possible monetary easing measures would include the purchase of mortgage-backed securities.

1 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

10 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

11 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会