There were some encouraging signals from the Fed recently. Here are some excerpt from a recent AP story on the subject:
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a fresh signal Thursday that he’s in no rush to reverse course and start boosting interest rates.
The Fed’s key bank lending rate is now at a record low near zero and will probably stay there for an “extended period,” Bernanke said in a speech to a Fed conference here.
That echoed the pledge he and his colleagues made at their meeting in late September. The goal: super-low rates will entice people and businesses to spend more, nurturing the budding recovery.
…
Still, Bernanke made clear on Thursday that when the time is right the Fed will have the tools and the political will to reel in the unprecedented amount of money it has pumped into the economy to avoid unleashing inflation.
“At some point, however, as economic recovery takes hold, we will need to tighten monetary policy to prevent the emergence of an inflation problem down the road,” Bernanke said.