Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January indicates that the labor market remains strong but that growth of economic activity has slowed from its solid rate in the fourth quarter. Payroll employment was little changed in February, but job gains have been solid, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Recent indicators point to slower growth of household spending and business fixed investment in the first quarter. On a 12-month basis, overall inflation has declined, largely as a result of lower energy prices; inflation for items other than food and ... (full story)

Federal Reserve officials scaled back their projected interest-rate increases this year to zero and said they would end the drawdown of the central bank's bond holdings in September after holding policy steady on Wednesday. The median rate projection of Fed officials compared with two hikes in the December forecasts, which spooked investors at the time. In its statement following a two-day meeting in Washington, the Federal Open Market Committee repeated January language that it will be “patient” amid “global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures.” The Fed's signal that it will keep ... (full story)

This is a comparison of Wednesday's FOMC statement with the one issued after the Fed's previous policymaking meeting on January 30. Text removed from the January statement is in red with a horizontal line through the middle. Text appearing for the first time in the new statement is in red and underlined. Black text appears in both statements. (full story)