Bernanke to take centre stage

This week's congressional testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be closely watched for hints that the FOMC is any closer to launching a third round of large-scale asset purchases. Even though the incoming economic data has deteriorated further since the Fed's decision last month to extend its Operation Twist, we don't think it has been bad enough to persuade a majority of officials to back QE3, at least not yet.