Federal Reserve to America: We shall keep calm and carry on

The Federal Reserve released a statement today following its latest meeting. Not a tremendous amount has changed: The members of the Federal Open Market Committee — who set the Fed's monetary policy — still feel the economy is growing and our failure to employ all the Americans who want jobs is receding — albeit at a very modest pace. They think the current short-term interest rate of 0 to 0.25 percent is appropriate for now, and they anticipate inflation will eventually (though lord knows when) get back to the long-term 2 percent target.

The committee didn't give an indication of when it would begin hiking short-term interest rates, though only two of its 17 members want to wait until 2016. The Fed has four more meetings this year — in July, September, October and December — meaning four more chances to begin the rate increases. (Though according to the Wall Street Journal, "most analysts assume" July is out.)

Long-term, the committee anticipates its benchmark interest rate will hit 1.625 percent by the end of 2016. That's down from its prediction in March of 1.875 percent for that date. The long-term goal remains a touch over 3 percent.

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