The Federal Reserve is prepared to take new action to boost the economy, its chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Friday morning, because inflation has been too low of late and unemployment is poised to come down too slowly.

In comments at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Bernanke laid out the intellectual foundations for a likely new round of unconventional efforts to strengthen growth, which analysts expect will be announced following the Fed's next policy meeting Nov. 2 and 3. His speech clearly identifies inflation coming in below the Fed's goals as the prime reason for further efforts to stimulate the economy.

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