Fed Meeting Minutes Blunt Hopes for QE3

Here's a quick reaction to today's release of the Fed's minutes from its March 13 rate setting meeting:

Fed Meeting Minutes Squash Hopes for QE3

As I told the editor, beyond the headline that there was little to suggest that the Fed will provide more stimulus, there wasn't much to say but I said it anyway. There was also a discussion of potential output that I failed to note, i.e. whether the unemployment problem is cyclical or structural, but the fact that "a number of participants judged that the labor market currently featured substantial slack" indicates that the many Fed members believe that cyclical fluctuation, i.e. lack of demand, is an important component of the unemployment problem (which points to more aggressive policy, or at the very least a continuation of present policy).