Federal Reserve policy makers said the labor market and housing have improved, moving closer to ending an unprecedented period of near-zero interest rates without providing a clear signal on the timing of liftoff. “The labor market continued to improve, with solid job gains and declining unemployment,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday in Washington. It said that “underutilization of labor resources has diminished,” dropping to modifier “somewhat” to describe the change. Chair Janet Yellen is guiding the Fed toward its first rate increase in almost a decade as the nation approaches full ... (full story)