Federal Reserve Stays On Path To Raise Interest Rates Twice In 2015

The Federal Reserve moved closer to its first interest-rate increase in almost a decade, saying on Wednesday the economy has "expanded moderately" after a winter contraction. The so-called dot-plot showed that top Fed officials expect the bank's benchmark rate to end the year at 0.625%, the same as in March. That would suggest two rate hikes before the end of 2015 even though the Fed cut its forecast for GDP this year to 1.8% to 2%, down from 2.3% to 2.7%. The central bank's other forecasts on unemployment and inflation for the years 2015 to 2017 were mostly unchanged. The Fed's statement was approved in a 10-0 vote.