Jackson Hole Speech: Fed Can't Fix Economy Without Washington's Help - Money Morning, Aug 29, 2011

"BY DAVID ZEILER, Associate Editor, Money Morning
The U.S. Federal Reserve has exhausted nearly all of its resources in trying to help the U.S. economy, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a speech Friday at Jackson Hole, WY.
Now it's up to the federal government to do its part by fixing U.S. fiscal policy.
"Most of the economic policies that support robust economic growth in the long run are outside the province of the central bank," Bernanke said in his address to the annual conference in sponsored by the Kansas City Fed.
Some analysts thought Bernanke would hint at a third round of quantitative easing, but instead he handed off responsibility for reviving the economy to Congress and the White House.
The absence of any policy changes at first disappointed Wall Street - the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 220 points immediately following the speech - but the negative sentiment didn't last. The Dow closed up 134.72 points, or 1.21%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 17.53 points, or 1.51%."