Friday, March 19, 2010

Parsing the Fed's Statement

SmartMoney

Stocks rose following the Fed’s announcement that the benchmark interest rate would stay low “for an extended period.” As expected, that key phrase remained unchanged from previous statements, indicating that the central bank is not yet ready to raise the federal?funds?rate from its record low of between 0.00% and 0.25%.

The Fed's statement also indicates a stronger view of the prospects for business investment, with the central bank saying that business spending “has risen significantly.” A pickup in business investment will be a crucial factor in creating sustainable economic growth and real improvement in the job market, Brian Sozzi, an analyst at Wall Street Strategies, wrote in a report this afternoon.

Link to full article: http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Economy/Parsing-the-Feds-Statement/