Fed in Bond-Buying Binge to Spur Growth - WSJ.com

The show of force follows months of internal debate. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had argued for staying focused on lending to troubled parts of the financial markets instead of buying long-term government bonds, an unorthodox step taken recently by the Bank of England. But Fed officials decided they had to do more as the economy deteriorated.Wednesday's move highlighted the central bank's ability to move aggressively on the financial crisis without approval from Congress. That flexibility is important at a time of growing political hostility toward devoting more taxpayer money to bailouts.

Fed in Bond-Buying Binge to Spur Growth - WSJ.com