Well, so much for Ben Bernanke and the brain trust at the Federal Reserve not wanting to appear overly concerned about the flagging economic recovery in the U.S. and not wanting to set expectations too high for QE II (i.e., trillions more in money printing).

A short time ago the central bank’s policy making committed released a statement indicating that, to the surprise of no one, short-term interest rates will remain at their freakishly low level of zero “for an extended period”.

As shown to the right, it will be just months before Bernanke outdoes his predecessor, former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan, in keeping rates lowest the longest.

But, the big news was a major downgrading of the economy’s performance and a new policy aimed at keeping the Fed’s $2.3+ trillion balance sheet from shrinking.

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