Fed's plan to boost economy

Saying that the pace of recovery remains slow, the central bank will buy $600 billion worth of long-term Treasurys by the end of next June. The number is a little higher than what some analysts had been expecting. Interest rates are being left alone. Here's the take from the WSJ's Dave Kansas:

It will be intriguing to see the minutes, but one reason the Fed may have gone to $600 billion is the election. With a split government, most believe the Fed has to carry more of the economic policy weight. One way to signal that they are ready to do that is to throw a big number up there. With the market thinking $500 billion, Ben moved another $100B in chips onto the table.

Perhaps, but the stock market has been sliding since the news came out about 10 minutes ago. Dow is down about 50 points. Keep in mind that some economists say it would take a few trillion dollars to really get things moving, a number that could bring about inflation.