Fed Expanding Bond-Buy Program

The Federal Reserve will expand its program to replace short-term bonds with longer-term debt by $267 billion through the end of the year in a bid to reduce unemployment and protect the economy’s expansion, Bloomberg reported.

The continuation “should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington.

“Growth in employment has slowed in recent months, and the unemployment rate remains elevated,” the FOMC statement said. “Household spending appears to be rising at a somewhat slower pace than earlier in the year.”

The program, known as Operation Twist, was announced in September and was set to expire this month.