Federal Reserve To Keep Interest Rates Low, Citing Uncertain Job Market

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting which took place earlier this month have been released and they suggest that the Federal Reserve believes the effects of the recession will be felt well into 2012, although it has trimmed its unemployment forecast.

Fed governors and regional bank presidents now predict the unemployment rate will range from 9.3 percent to 9.7 percent in next year’s fourth quarter, down from the June projection of 9.5 percent to 9.8 percent, according to Bloomberg.

However, the central bank believes the jobless rate will still be higher than that of a healthy economy, hovering around 7 percent during the next two years.

The news provider also reported Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the bank will keep interest rates "exceptionally low" for an "extended period," as the labor market weakness continues.

Bernanke’s interest rate policy has come under fire in recent years from advocates of tighter monetary policy, such as the National Inflation Association (NIA).

In its latest effort to draw America’s attention to the danger of inflation, the NIA has released The Dollar Bubble, a 30-minute documentary which it says discusses "the upcoming collapse of the U.S. dollar and how the Federal Reserve’s destructive policies could bring the U.S. financial system to an end."

Among featured speakers is Representative Ron Paul, a libertarian from Texas.