Investors Await News on QE3

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By Trey Thoelcke Published

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Rumors that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would hint at more monetary stimulus later in the day had global shares and the euro edging upward. U.S. stocks are set to open higher, ahead of the Fed chairman’s testimony.

Bernanke is scheduled to begin the first leg of a two-day testimony to U.S. lawmakers at 1400 GMT. They are expected to press him on whether the central bank is close to launching a third round of quantitative easing (or QE3), as well as what other options it might be considering.

Last month, the Fed decided to purchase an additional $267 billion in long-term bonds with proceeds from short-term debt. The measure, known as Operation Twist, has already put the U.S. central bank on a policy easing footing. Central banks in Brazil, China, Europe and the U.K. have announced looser monetary policies since then. And investors and analysts will be watching to see whether the weak payroll number for June and just released disappointing retails sales data will prompt Bernanke to take action.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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