Top officials in the Federal Reserve System were making the rounds of the financial and economic intelligentsia this week, shedding some light on the central bank’s decision to prolong its support of the financial and housing markets through its admittedly “unconventional means” of massive asset purchases, accommodative monetary policy and explicit forward guidance. “Several questions have emerged following the meeting” of the Federal Open Market Committee, said FOMC member William Dudley, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during a speech this week in New York City. “Most noteworthy was – given that market expectations were skewed towards anticipating the beginning of a taper at this meeting – why the committee did not begin to reduce the pace of asset purchases.” Although he was not presuming to speak for the committee, Dudley did provide...