Comparing the US Federal Reserve's views on economy

A comparison of the Federal Reserve's statements from its two-day meeting that ended Wednesday and its meeting Dec. 13-14:

OPTIMISM IMPROVES:

Now: "Measures of consumer and business sentiment have improved of late."

Then: This sentence wasn't included in December, and likely reflects postelection increases in confidence.

INFLATION WILL RISE:

January: Fed policymakers are more confident about inflation. They expect that "with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy ... and inflation will rise to 2 percent over the medium term."

December: "Inflation is expected to rise to 2 percent over the medium term."