ROUBINI: QE3 Has Begun

With markets tanking, and the economy weakening, buzz about the Fed doing QE3 has really heated up.

The FOMC meets next week, and the Jackson Hole conference (where QE2 was announce) happens soon thereafter.

But arguably, the next round of general easing has begun.

Yesterday at 3:00 AM the Swiss lowered interest rates to stem the rise of the Franc, and last night Japan intervened to make its currency weaker.

And then today, the ECB confirmed more bond buying, so however you slice it, the central banks are back into easing mode.

On Twitter, Nouriel Roubini declares that the latest currency interventions from Switzerland and Japan represent the start of QE3, ultimately ending in more Fed easing.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/roubini-qe3-has-begun-2011-8#ixzz1UM2oTZUj

“We seem to be entering a new stage of the currency wars where it’s not just the emerging markets that are responding to broad dollar weakness,” said Callum Henderson, global head of currency research at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore, who has written books on currency markets. “Expect much more intervention in the future and further acrimony in terms of how the U.S. dollar is doing.”

Currency Intervention Revived as Odds of Fed Easing Escalate
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-04/currency-wars-enter-new-stage-as-chances-of-fed-asset-purchases-escalate.html