Bernanke downplays risks from bond-buying

 Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke downplayed fears expressed by some more hawkish Fed officials and investors that the Fed's bond-buying program will lead to higher inflation or future asset bubbles in the future. "I don't believe significant inflation is going to be the result of any of this,"

 Bernanke said in an appearance at the University of Michigan. Whether Fed policy will lead to asset bubbles in the future is "a difficult question," Bernanke said. The Fed is monitoring markets and toughening supervision to guard against financial instability, he said. The worst thing for the Fed to do would be "to raise interest rates prematurely," he said.