Manny Mondays - To QE or Not to QE? That is the Question

Morning all! Despite spending the weekend totally tuned from the news, this article - Stimulus by Fed Is Disappointing, Economists Say - caught my attention. It basically concludes the following: (1) surprise, surprise, the Fed's efforts at "easing" hasn't really helped the real economy as much as had been previously forecasted by many economists, and (2) although the Fed's tools have been deemed effective at stopping the fall, they are very limited in terms of driving the real economy. Shock of shocks indeed. Certainly nobody (or a bunch of "nobodies") saw that coming, right?

Here are a few key excerpts:

As the Fed’s policy-making board prepares to meet Tuesday and Wednesday — after which the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, will hold a news conference for the first time to explain its decisions to the public — a broad range of economists say that the disappointing results show the limits of the central bank’s ability to lift the nation from its economic malaise.

“It’s good for stopping the fall, but for actually turning things around and driving the recovery, I just don’t think monetary policy has that power,” said Mark Thoma, a professor of economics at the University of Oregon, referring specifically to the bond-buying program.

Mr. Bernanke and his supporters say that the purchases have improved economic conditions, all but erasing fears of deflation, a pattern of falling prices that can delay purchases and stall growth. Inflation, which is beneficial in moderation, has climbed closer to healthy levels since the Fed started buying bonds.

The article then goes on to discuss some of the options the Fed has at this point in terms of continuing with QE or ending it. Many contributors on the blogosphere have theorized that Ben is basically in a box now with no good options in that if he continues with more QE he risks stoking inflation, as well as the continued debasement of the dollar, which could serve as a drag on the real economy, but if he ends QE, he puts the stock market and other asset prices at significant risk of falling. So what does he decide to do at this point? Some contributors on the blogosphere have mentioned the prospects of some sort of "stealth easing" that serves to do something similar to QE, but one that's not overtly labeled as such. Might this be an option at this point? What does everyone think Ben's next move will be and the resulting effects on the market, commodities, inflation (deflation?) and real economy?