The Federal Reserve closes out its final meeting of the year today, with some new policy announcements expected and lots of communication. Real Time Economics and WSJ Video will be offering fresh analysis at every step, including live blogs, a statement tracker and the entire press conference. Here’s what to expect and when:
12:30 pm Statement released detailing asset purchases: The first release from the meeting is the official statement from the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. The central bank is expected to continue its monthly $40 billion purchases of mortgage-backed securities originally announced in September.
A bigger question has been what to do about the expiring “Operation Twist” program, in which the Fed buys $45 billion in long-term Treasurys and funds the purchases with sales of short-term Treasurys. With the supply of short-term securities running low, the Fed is expected to keep buying about $45 billion in Treasurys into next year, but without the offsetting sales (even though many economists feel the costs of the move outweigh the benefits).