News Summary: Reassessing Fed, market goes up
News Summary: Investors buy both stocks and bonds; reassessing what the Fed meant
LETTING THE DUST SETTLE: Tuesday and Wednesday marked the first two-day gain since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke startled investors a week ago when he said the Fed could start to slash its bond buying program this year.
WHAT BERNANKE MEANT: Since then, other Fed officials sought to reassure investors that the central bank won't pull out too soon. Wednesday's news that U.S. economic growth is now slower than first calculated also made investors think that the Fed will keep its stimulus programs in place.
Q2, NOT QE: Some investors were already turning their focus away from the Fed and its stimulus programs, parts of which are known as "quantitative easing," and onto second-quarter earnings. Company profits are expected to edge higher.
