Federal Reserve will call time this week on its program of government bond purchases, which at one point was pumping $85 billion a month into financial markets and the economy. James Bullard, who heads the St. Louis Fed, has suggested that sticking with bond purchases for a few more months would give policymakers time to assess a deteriorating inflation outlook. “We remain optimistic that the recent upshift from 2 percent to 3 percent growth will be sustained,” economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note.