Market Reflections 7/21/2009

Ben Bernanke is prepared to keep interest rates low for an extended period, enough not to risk cutting short the recovery. Things appear to be returning to normal as the Fed chairman expects liquidity needs to keep fading and made no mention of quantitative easing. Stocks didn't react much to the comments with the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent to end just under 955. But the distancing of the risk of higher interest rates tripped demand for Treasuries where the 10-year yield fell 15 basis points to 3.46 percent. The dollar index firmed slightly to just under 79.