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U.S. Stocks Rise as Fed to Continue Bond-Buying Program

*from www.bloomberg.com, Mar. 20, 2013 (To view original article click here.)

Take Away #1: U.S. stocks rose, snapping a three-day decline in the S&P 500 Index.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The S&P 500 (SPX) advanced 0.7% to 1,558.84 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • This put the S&P 500 back within seven points of its record reached in 2007.

Take Away #2: Stocks rose as the Federal Reserve will keep up its bond buying to stimulate the economy.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • More than three-years into the expansion, the central bank led by Chairman Ben Bernanke is pressing on with the open-ended purchases of Treasury and Mortgage backed securities.
  • The S&P 500 has surged 130% from a 12-year low in 2009.
  • The S&P 500 rose to within 2 points of its 2007 record last week while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high.

Take Away #3: The Federal Open Market Committee left unchanged its statement that it plans to hold its target interest rate near zero.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Plans to hold interest rates near zero will continue as long as unemployment remains above 6.5% and inflation is projected to be no more than 2.5%.
  • Policy makers lowered expectation for the unemployment rate at the end of the year to a range of 7.3% to 7.5%.
  • The economy will expand 2.3% to 2.8% this year, they estimate compared with earlier forecasts of 2.3%-3% growth.

Take Away #4: Stocks rallied earlier today as euro-area leaders weighed options for Cyprus.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Investors speculated that the European Central Bank will continues to support the country’s banks until next week.
  • The situation in Cyprus is a reminder of the fragility of economic circumstances in Europe and in many ways serves to reinforce the Fed’s current policy.

*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.

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