National News Alert

Federal Reserve keeps interest rates low; unveils plan to buy mortgage bonds

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced that it is extending its
plan to keep interest rates low until at least mid-2015 and is also
launching a plan to buy $40 billion of mortgage bonds a month for as
long as the economy needs it. It is the central bank's most
significant intervention since 2010 and is an upside surprise to what
markets expected.

"Growth in employment has been slow, and the unemployment rate remains
elevated," the Fed said. "If the outlook for the labor market does not
improve substantially, the Committee will continue its purchases of
agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset
purchases, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate until such
improvement is achieved in a context of price stability."

Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/fed-expected-to-announce-stimulus-thursday/2012/09/13/38a31be2-fda4-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html

For more news, analysis and insight, visit The Washington Post.