The minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting seem to suggest that members are starting to coalesce around Janet Yellen's analysis that monetary policy should be more accommodative (see "Yellen's Case for More Easing Primes Fed to Act Sooner Than Later"). While I have been expecting such a thing, I was completely surprised that minutes from the meeting could spark as big a response as it did in financial markets. I am assuming that the following sentence packed the most powerful punch:

"Many members judged that additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon unless incoming information pointed to a substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery."

While we never know how many is "many," this statement is a much more aggressive tone than the standard policy reminders that the Fed remains ready to act if economic conditions worsen. This statement portrays a Fed with