This maturity extension program – referred to by some as Operation Twist – should exert downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help make broader financial conditions more accommodative, thereby supporting a stronger economic recovery.
Indeed, recent work by an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggests that a similar policy put in place in 1961 had effects on longer-term interest rates that were roughly comparable to those of QE2.6  3  The August and September FOMC meeting statements, as well as related FOMC information, are available on the Federal Reserve Board’s website at www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm.