The Federal Reserve announced a plan to pump $600 billion into the economy, aiming to energize the economic recovery. Because the Fed cannot cut short-term interest rates any further — its targeted rate has been near zero for almost two years — the central bank will use a less conventional, and less proven, technique called quantitative easing. Have a look at The Washington Post site as it explains the pros and cons for:

* the stockmarket
* inflation
* currency markets
* interest rates