Fed to maintain balance sheet after QE2 end (by Steve Goldstein)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Federal Reserve would continue to maintain its balance sheet by reinvesting proceeds of maturing mortgage-backed and Treasury securities once the bond-buying program ends in June. He said that to stop reinvesting proceeds would be an early, tightening step. "We therefore have to make that decision based on the outlook, based on our view of how sustainable the recovery is and what the condition, the situation is with respect to inflation," Bernanke said.