JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is defending the Fed's new $600 billion program to aid the economy, rejecting concerns that it will spur runaway inflation.
Critics, including some Fed officials, fear that all the money being injected into the economy could ignite inflation or speculative bubbles in the prices of bonds or commodities.
Speaking to a conference on the Georgia coast Saturday, Bernanke says the new program, announced Wednesday, won't push inflation to "super ordinary" levels.
The Fed will buy $600 billion worth of government bonds in a bid to make loans cheaper and get Americans to spend more. Doing so, would help the economy and prompt companies to boost hiring.
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AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa contributed to this report.
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