The Federal Reserve said it will end, as planned, one of its main supports for the U.S. economy—purchases of $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities—allowing a nascent economic recovery to stand with less government support. Fed's Balance Sheet View Interactive Journal Community Fed officials ended a meeting of their policy committee Tuesday noting the economy is improving, but signaled that it will be at least several more months before they raise short-term interest rates from near-zero levels. "Economic activity has continued to strengthen," the Fed said in a statement. "The labor market is stabilizing," it continued. "Inflation is likely to be subdued for some time." Slowly improving growth, low inflation and more normal credit markets have led Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to unwind many Fed emergency-rescue efforts while putting off raising rates. The Fed will complete the mortgage-backed securities purchases by the end of March, winding down a program that it and many economists believe played an important role in preventing a much deeper recession.[Read more...]