Federal Reserve to Keep Rates Near Zero

The Fed acknowledged today that an economic recovery was under way, but signaled that it was still too early to start raising interest rates.

In their statement following a two-day meeting by the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank repeated that it would keep its benchmark overnight interest rate at virtually zero for "an extended period." This almost certainly means until at least some time in 2010. They also announced that they would extend the Fed's program to buy up almost $1.5 trillion worth of mortgage-related securities through the end of March.