QE3 is Unlikely: Ex-Council of Economic Advisors Chairman

I'd be very surprised if there was a radical QE3," Glenn Hubbard told CNBC Wednesday. "The risk management argument really isn't there. There are data to be learned about the economy. The affect of a QE3 would be relatively modest, and it might risk raising inflationary expectations, so I doubt it."It's doubtful Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, will unveil another round of quantitative easing during his speech later this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said Glenn Hubbard, dean and Russell L. Carson professor of finance and economics at Columbia Business School, and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. Hubbard noted the real issue is more for the U.S. government than the Federal Reserve "The government really needs to get its fiscal house in order and help support the economy. That's really not something the Federal Reserve can do."

President Obama needs to come up with a "good package for the economy" with a lot of long-term budget adjustment and spending restraint, and perhaps something that's going to help the economy today, he explained.
"Some candidates could be a corporate [tax] rate cut, investment incentives, higher incentives on the employer side," added Hubbard. "Whether the President will propose those is anyone's guess."