Fed Considering Variety of Stimulus Measures

Washington, DC, Aug. 31, 2011 -- There was no clear agreement among Federal Reserve officials at their Aug. 9 meeting about what kind of further stimulus the Fed might pursue at its next meeting if the economy continues to backslide.

According to minutes of the meeting, among the options were more asset purchases, increasing the maturity of the Fed's balance sheet or cutting the interest on excess reserves the Fed pays to banks.

After the discussion, the central bankers decided to issue a statement that interest rates would stay near zero until mid-2013.

The minutes show that the Fed officials did not see a recession coming but were worried that the economy was vulnerable to shocks.