by Calculated Risk on 6/18/2012 06:45:00 PM

From Jon Hilsenrath at the WSJ: Clogged Credit Weighs on Fed Policy Makers

The housing bust left behind millions of people with credit records damaged by plunging home prices, lost jobs, past overspending or bad luck. Many are now walled off from the low interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve ...
...
Fed officials are weighing new steps at their policy meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, following a period of disappointing jobs growth and financial turbulence in Europe. ... The credit divide factors into their thinking.

Analysts think the policy options under discussion are:

1) extend the extended period to 2015, the current statement reads "the Committee ... currently anticipates that economic conditions ... are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014".

2) Expand and extend the "program to extend the average maturity of its holdings of securities" (Operation Twist).

3) Launch QE3 (probably with more MBS buying).

None of these programs will bridge the credit divide.  And not much of a hint from a usual source ...