A comparison of the Federal Reserve’s statements from its two-day meeting that ended Wednesday and its meeting on Dec. 11-12:
ECONOMY:
December: “Economic activity and employment have continued to expand at a moderate pace in recent months, apart from weather-related disruptions.”
January: “Growth in economic activity paused in recent months, in large part because of weather-related disruptions and other transitory factors.”
BETTER OUTLOOK:
Then: Fed policymakers remain “concerned that, without sufficient policy accommodation, economic growth might not be strong enough to generate sustained improvement in labor market conditions.”
Now: The Fed “expects that, with appropriate policy accommodation, economic growth will proceed at a moderate pace and the unemployment rate will gradually decline.”
MORE SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT:
Then: “Household spending has continued to advance, and the housing sector has shown further signs of improvement, but growth in business fixed investment has slowed.”
Now: “Household spending and business fixed investment advanced, and the housing sector has shown further improvement.”
