Wall Street flat in choppy day, brief lift from Fed

[ej510]

(Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Tuesday, though comments from Federal Reserve officials suggesting the possibility of more stimulative policies sparked gains that briefly put the Nasdaq in mildly positive territory.

Some Fed officials are ready to provide more monetary policy easing if the recovery is deemed too sluggish to cut the U.S. unemployment rate, though others said the Fed should tighten sooner than expected if recent increases in inflation don't moderate. The comments were included in the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's June 21-22 meeting, which were released Tuesday afternoon.

The Fed's second round of quantitative easing, which ended in June, contributed to sharp equity gains. Some analysts have questioned the market's prospects in a tighter environment.

"People were expecting a flat-out, 'No this is it. This is the end of the line,' and the fact that the door is still a little bit open provides a little bit of hope," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer of OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 8.74 points, or 0.07 percent, at 12,514.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 1.38 points, or 0.10 percent, at 1,320.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 7.22 points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,795.40.

Cont'd at the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/us-markets-stocks-idUSTRE75512M20110712

[onethatcares]

1. does that mean

the fed is going to give corporations and the banksters money to get them to take loans at less than 0% interest?