Atlanta Fed chief: If economy keeps swooning, Fed must act

JACKSON, Miss. - Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, says the Fed should act to further stimulate growth if the economy doesn't improve by year's end.

But speaking Friday to the Mississippi Economic Council, Lockhart said he supports no further Fed action if employment growth shows improvement in the next six months.

If it doesn't, Lockhart said the Fed's current policy will become "untenable."

Lockhart says he thinks there's at least some room for the Federal Reserve to use its balance sheet to further promote economic growth.

He says he could support more efforts to stimulate the economy by loosening credit. However, he said he's unsure how much fruit that strategy would bear, and that it wouldn't be a "miracle cure."