The Federal Reserve offered a slightly rosier economic outlook and reaffirmed it would stop buying mortgages in March, on the eve of the Senate vote Thursday on Ben Bernanke's nomination for a second term as Fed chairman. More Mortgage Bulls Bid Fed Adieu Interactive Map: Interest rate across the globe Parsing the Fed: How the statement changed Real Time Econ: Return of the Lone Dissenter Full text: Read the Fed's statement The Fed's policy-making arm, the Federal Open Market Committee, said it would continue to keep interest rates near zero for an "extended period," meaning at least several more months, according to a statement released Wednesday after a two-day meeting. But in the first sign of dissent in a year, Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted against the action, saying the economy and markets were strong enough for the Fed to remove its commitment to keep rates low. Fed officials also voted to make Mr. Bernanke chairman of the FOMC for another year, an annual ritual that took on added significance ahead of the Senate vote.[Read more...]