[Economist: Fed's Balance Sheet Expansion and Short-Term Debt Purchases May Only Impact the Front End of the Yield Curve] Odaily Planet Daily reports that AllianceBernstein's Chief U.S. Economist Eric Winograd stated in a report that the Federal Reserve's decision to begin expanding its balance sheet to ensure the banking system has 'ample' reserves and to resume purchasing short-term Treasury securities should only impact the very short end of the U.S. Treasury yield curve, without affecting the longer-term segments. He noted that the Fed will normalize its purchases of Treasury bills, with an initial target of buying approximately $40 billion worth of Treasury bills per month. 'The impact of this decision on the market should be limited to the money market and the very front end of the yield curve,' he added. Although the balance sheet expansion itself is not surprising, some market participants had originally expected the Fed to wait until January next year to initiate this operation. (Jin10)