Code For The Threat Europe's

(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the central bank was ready to offer the economy additional stimulus after it announced interest rates would likely remain near zero until at least late 2014. The Fed also took the historic step of adopting an explicit inflation target, though Bernanke took pains to stress that officials would be flexible about reining in price growth when unemployment was too high. The late 2014 timeframe for the first rate hike was considerably later than investors had expected and some 18 months later than the Fed had suggested last year, and the announcement prompted a rally in U.S. government bonds. Speaking at a news conference after a two-day policy meeting, Bernanke was cautious about recent improvements in the U.S. economy and ...