US Fed to spend $45 billion a month to buy bonds, links rate hike to 6.5% unemployment

"The Federal Reserve will spend $45 billion a month to sustain an aggressive drive to keep long-term interest rates low. And it set a goal of keeping a key short-term rate near zero until unemployment drops below 6.5 percent. The policies are intended to help an economy that the Fed says is growing only modestly with 7.7 percent unemployment in November. Stocks rose modestly after the Fed’s statement was released Wednesday at the conclusion of its final meeting of the year." (12/12/12)