Fed Keeps Interest Rates Low While US Economy Recovers
Date Posted: 2009-12-16
As noted by CNBC.com, The Federal Reserve, as expected, decided to hold interest rates at a record low for an "extended period" to keep the economic recovery going and drive down double-digit unemployment. In a more upbeat assessment, the Fed said the economy has "continued to pick up" and that "deterioration in the labor market is abating," a nod to the recent slowdown in the pace of layoffs.
The Fed also said it expects to wind down some emergency lending programs when they are set to expire next year. Spending by households, while growing at a moderate pace, remains "constrained" by the weak job market, slight wage growth and tight credit, Fed policymakers said.
Against this backdrop, the Fed kept its target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent, where it's stood since last December. And it repeated its pledge, first made in March, to keep rates at "exceptionally low levels" for an "extended period." For the entire story please visit:http://www.cnbc.com/id/34449144