The Federal Reserve is likely to hold off on scaling back its bond-buying program in December, using the meeting to prepare the markets for a move early next year, economists said Friday in the wake of the strong November unemployment report. “The odds are that they basically almost pre-announce at the December meeting and say if numbers continue to be strong a tapering will start very soon,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. Tapering refers to scaling back bond purchases. John Lonski, chief capital markets economist at Moody’s Analytics, agreed. “At a minimum, they will strongly ... (full story)